Official, parallel market gap widens to ₦13 as naira depreciates

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 27 August 2025 7:14am WAT

This picture taken on January 29, 2016 in Lagos shows 1000 naira banknotes, Nigeria's currency. Nigeria's central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, on January 26 dismissed calls to devalue the naira in his monetary policy committee statement. Instead he chose to continue propping up the currency at 197-199 naira to the dollar and maintain foreign-exchange restrictions. As a result, the naira on the black market is hovering around a record low of 305, fuelling complaints from domestic and foreign businesses who can't access dollars required for imports. / AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

The naira yesterday recorded further weakness against the United States dollar, with the margin between the official and parallel market exchange rates widening to N13 per dollar.

Figures from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) showed that the naira closed at N1,537 per dollar, a one-kobo depreciation from Monday’s N1,536.99 per dollar.

In contrast, the parallel market rate slid to N1,550 per dollar from N1,540 recorded on Monday.

The development pushed the gap between both markets from N3.01 on Monday to N13 yesterday, highlighting renewed pressure on the currency.

Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed the slight movement in the official window, even as traders reported stronger volatility in the parallel market.