The naira on Monday, April 8, dropped further to N1,629 per dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria pumping in $668.8 million to help support the local currency.
According to data released by the CBN, this is a N29 loss from last Friday’s rate of N1,600 per dollar.
In the parallel market, the naira also weakened, exchanging for N1,570 per dollar, down from N1,565 last weekend. This has widened the gap between the official and black market rates to N59.
Reports from AIICO Capital showed that the naira lost value by nearly 3 per cent in March 2025, mainly due to high demand for dollars from foreign investors and local companies.
“The naira experienced significant depreciation in March 2025 due to persistent demand pressure in the foreign exchange market,” AIICO Capital stated in its monthly report.
Even though the CBN sold large amounts of dollars to ease the pressure, demand continued to be higher than supply.
“Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria intervening with substantial dollar sales totalling $668.8m, the naira weakened by 2.97 per cent, closing at N1,536.82/$ from N1,492.49/$ at the start of the month,” the report added.
In the past week, the naira showed sharp ups and downs. It started the week trading around N1,525 to N1,535 per dollar, helped by consistent CBN support and some inflow of funds from abroad.
However, by midweek, the pressure increased due to a rise in demand from offshore buyers, falling oil prices, and global market fears caused by new U.S. tariffs announced by Donald Trump.
This heavy demand made the naira drop further, hitting N1,570/$ by the end of the week. Despite more interventions from the CBN, the naira still fell by 1.97 per cent and closed at N1,567.02/$.
Foreign reserves also dropped by $149 million, bringing the total to $38.15 billion.
Looking ahead, investment experts believe the CBN will continue to pump in dollars to support the naira. However, they warn that global market tensions could still affect Nigeria’s currency.
“Global risks—like US tariffs and retaliatory measures—may spur volatility and capital flight,” AIICO Capital noted.
