The naira strengthened at the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM/NAFEM) window on Friday while the parallel (black-market) price for the US dollar remained noticeably higher — showing the continued gap between official and informal market rates.
Key rates
NFEM/NAFEM (official, CBN-derived VWAP): About ₦1,444 per $1.
Retail bank/branch quotes: Around ₦1,454 per $1 at some quoted banks.
Parallel/Black market (Lagos): Dealers quoted ₦1,490–₦1,495 per $1 (sell) and roughly ₦1,480–₦1,490 (buy), depending on source and time of day.
What moved the naira today
The NAFEM (official) window showed a modest appreciation versus the previous session — reflecting continued inflows and active liquidity management in the official FX window. One market tracker reported the NAFEM closing near ₦1,444.35/$1, a small gain from the prior close.
At the same time, parallel-market dealers in Lagos continued to trade dollars well above official levels, with mid-to-upper-₦1,400s quotes reported across platforms and websites monitoring black-market activity. The persistence of this spread highlights ongoing frictions between official FX supply and informal demand.
How big is the gap?
Using the numbers above, the spread between the official NFEM/NAFEM rate (₦1,444) and parallel market (₦1,495) is roughly ₦50–₦60 per dollar — a gap that matters for importers, travelers and small businesses who rely on cash dollars. Market watchers say the size of this spread can shift quickly when liquidity conditions or official interventions change.
Context — recent trend
Over the past week the dollar-naira exchange rate has shown intraday volatility: historical data trackers noted swings across mid-October to end-October, with the market reacting to foreign inflows, local macro announcements and central-bank operations. Analysts monitoring the week reported the largest daily moves around October 30.
What this means for consumers and businesses
Importers & corporates: Better official window rates can lower landed costs if they access NAFEM liquidity, but many small importers still rely on BDCs or parallel dealers and therefore feel the higher black-market price.
Retails/consumers: Travellers and people exchanging cash in Lagos should expect to get lower values at official bank counters than at parallel dealers — but parallel rates carry higher risk and legal exposure.
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