Trending 
The Naira extended its gains against the United States Dollar at the official foreign exchange market, starting the new week on a positive footing.
Figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the local currency strengthened on Monday, closing at N1,429.31 to the dollar, an improvement from the N1,430.85 recorded on Friday, 2 January 2026.
This movement represents a gain of N1.56 for the Naira compared with its closing rate at the end of last week.
However, a different trend played out at the parallel market, where the Naira weakened by N5 to trade at N1,480 per dollar on Monday, slipping from N1,475 exchanged on Friday.
The mixed performance comes against the backdrop of a rise in Nigeria’s external reserves, which climbed to $45.57 billion as of Friday last week.
