The Nigerian currency, the naira, recorded a sharp appreciation against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Thursday, strengthening significantly compared to the previous day’s rate.

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

The movement represents an N33 gain for the local currency on a day-to-day basis at the black market.

According to Hassan, the naira’s rally marks its strongest performance at the parallel market in several months, attributing the development to reduced demand for foreign exchange and recent interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“The naira strengthened to its highest level in the black market in months. I believe this is due to low patronage and recent CBN intervention,” he said.

However, the trend was different at the official foreign exchange window, where the naira weakened for the second consecutive session. It depreciated by N3.25 on Thursday to close at N1,341.35 per dollar, down from N1,338.12 recorded on Wednesday. Over two days, the currency has shed N5.38 at the official market.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $48.50 billion as of February 17, 2026, according to data from the apex bank.

The latest development follows Wednesday’s trading session, which saw the naira post mixed performances across both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.