The Nigerian currency, the naira, began the new month with a loss of N17, which was carried over from trading on Friday.
The development follows the dollar mop-up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), aiming to narrow the yawning gap between the official and parallel markets.
Data from the CBN shows that the naira weakened by 1.25% weekly, with the dollar trading at N1,363.39 on Friday, February 27, 2026, relative to last week’s rally
The naira depreciated by 1.04% during the five trading sessions last week, from N1,349.24 recorded on Monday, February 23, 2026, the first trading day of the week.
Daily, the naira dropped by 0.3% or N3.57 per dollar, compared to N1,359.82 traded on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market(NFEM).
In the unofficial parallel market, the local currency lost N30 per week, closing at N1,370 on Friday, February 27, 2026, representing a 2.19% fall from N1,340 quoted the previous day.
The naira, however, remained strong at N1,370 daily.
According to a report by BusinessDay, the exchange rate gap between the official and parallel market windows narrowed to N7 from N11 recorded on Thursday, February 26, 2026, showing a 0.5% closure and showing greater convergence between the two windows
According to reports, before last week’s fall, the naira rallied against the dollar, hitting a two-year high of N1,335.96 on February 17, 2026, at the official market.
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