Naira Shows Weekly Gain Despite Volatility and Bank License Revocations

The Central Bank of Nigeria reported that the naira posted net gains on the official foreign exchange market for the week ending July 3, 2026, improving from the previous Friday's rate of 1,380.93. This overall progress occurred despite daily volatility and a persistent gap between official and parallel market rates.

On July 1, the naira strengthened to 1,372.41 per dollar, marking the week's largest daily improvement. The currency continued to rise on July 2, reaching 1,370.15 per dollar. However, it edged down slightly to 1,370.19 per dollar by July 3. Throughout this period, Nigeria's external reserves remained at a high of 51.46 billion dollars as of June 30.

Parallel market data remained inconsistent. Some reports indicated rates holding steady around 1,395 per dollar, while others showed the currency weakening to a selling rate of 1,405 per dollar by Friday. On July 2, the margin between the official and parallel rates widened to 31.6 naira per dollar.

Beyond currency fluctuations, the central bank took regulatory action by revoking the operating licenses of 46 microfinance banks. Among the institutions sanctioned for illegal operations and regulatory issues were Credit Bank and Sycamore Bank.