Business
Naira Posts Strongest Daily Gain Against Dollar Ahead of Eid Holiday
The Naira recorded its sharpest single-day appreciation against the U.S. dollar on Thursday at the official foreign exchange market, just ahead of Friday’s public holiday marking Eid-ul-Mawlid, the celebration of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed the Naira closed at N1,514.87 per dollar, stronger than the N1,521.46 it traded on Wednesday. This represents a day-on-day gain of N6.59, the steepest appreciation so far this week.
In contrast, the parallel market moved in the opposite direction, with the Naira weakening to N1,539 per dollar, compared to N1,533 recorded the previous day.
The divergent trends highlight mixed sentiment in Nigeria’s foreign exchange markets, even as external debt inched higher to $41.49 billion on Wednesday, up slightly from $41.46 billion the previous day, according to CBN figures.