Naira Falls Further Against Dollar at Black Market

Nigeria’s naira ended the week on a negative note, recording further depreciation against the U.S. dollar in the parallel foreign exchange market.

According to Abubakar Alhasan, a Bureau de Change operator in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, the naira fell to N1,628 per dollar on Friday, down from N1,623 traded on Thursday.

“We buy at N1,624 per dollar and sell between N1,628 and N1,630 per dollar due to a surge in demand,” he said.

This marks a N5 drop in the naira’s value in just one day at the parallel market, continuing a downward trend that has persisted since Monday, May 26, 2025. It is now the fourth consecutive day of depreciation.

At the official exchange window, however, the naira remained stable, closing Friday at N1,586.15 per dollar, the same rate recorded on Thursday.

Throughout the week, the naira generally performed poorly across both markets. On a week-on-week basis, it depreciated by N13 in the parallel market and by N5.17 at the official market.

In its 2025 economic outlook, the African Development Bank projected that the naira—along with several other African currencies, would weaken by 6 percent this year.