The Nigerian currency, the naira, posted a notable appreciation against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Thursday, marking a significant improvement from the previous day’s exchange rate.

A Bureau De Change operator, Abubakar Hassan, disclosed on Friday that the naira strengthened to N1,317 per dollar on Thursday, up from N1,350 exchanged on Wednesday.

This reflects a day-on-day gain of N33 for the local currency at the black market.

Hassan noted that the rally represents the naira’s strongest showing at the parallel market in several months, attributing the improvement to reduced demand for foreign exchange and recent interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“The naira climbed to its highest level in the black market in months. This appears to be driven by low demand and recent CBN interventions,” he explained.

In contrast, the official foreign exchange window recorded a different trend, with the naira weakening for the second consecutive session. It depreciated by N3.25 on Thursday to close at N1,341.35 per dollar, compared to N1,338.12 on Wednesday. Within two days, the currency has lost N5.38 at the official market.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $48.50 billion as of February 17, 2026, based on figures released by the apex bank.

The development follows Wednesday’s trading session, during which the naira recorded mixed performances across the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.