The naira fell against the US dollar, British pound sterling, and euro in the official foreign exchange market on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, according to data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM). The local currency closed at N1,365.53 to the dollar, a drop of N3.32 from the previous session's N1,362.21. Against the pound, it lost N2.38 to settle at N1,816.43 per pound, and against the euro, it shed N2.69 to close at N1,552.88.
Mixed Performance Across Market Segments
Not all segments of the market moved in the same direction. At the GTBank FX desk, the naira gained N2 to trade at N1,370 per dollar from N1,372. In the parallel market, the rate held steady at N1,400 per dollar. Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change operator, told Legit.ng: "The foreign exchange market remained relatively stable today, with the US dollar trading at N1,417 for buying and N1,427 for selling. The British pound is being bought at N1,875 and sold at N1,895, while the euro is trading at N1,577 on the buying side and N1,597 on the selling side."
Sharp Increase in Trading Activity
Interbank FX turnover climbed to $102.954 million on Tuesday, a 160% jump from the $39.587 million on Monday. The number of individual FX deals rose to 121, up from 55 in the prior session, indicating heightened market activity.
External Reserves Under Pressure
Nigeria's external reserves declined following foreign exchange injections by the Central Bank of Nigeria into the currency market the previous week. The CBN continued to monitor liquidity conditions in the official FX market and published exchange rates for other major currencies, including CFA (N2.36), Yuan (N201.66), Danish Krona (N207.71), Euro (N1,552.88), Japanese Yen (N8.33), Saudi Riyal (N363.74), South African Rand (N81.54), Swiss Franc (N1,667.11), British Pound Sterling (N1,816.43), US Dollar (N1,365.53), WAUA (N1,847.10), and UAE Dirham (N371.72).
Reuters Survey Forecasts Further Naira Depreciation
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the naira faces renewed depreciation pressure as fuel importers step up dollar purchases to finance petroleum imports, even as domestic refining output grows. A Reuters survey of currency traders forecast that the naira would weaken against the US dollar over the next week, alongside the currencies of Ghana and Uganda. Traders cited rising demand for foreign exchange from petroleum importers who are building fuel inventories following the issuance of import licences.
