The naira at the foreign exchange (FX) markets on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, recorded a slight gain in commercial banks and the parallel market, but fell in the official market against major currencies.

Check on GTBank’s FX counter saw the naira gain N16 against the US dollar to close at N1,347/$1, compared with N1,363/$1 the previous day.

In the parallel market, the Naira strengthened by N20 to N1,370/$1 from Tuesday’s N1,390/$1.

Naira falls at NFEM window

On the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed that the naira depreciated slightly by N2.15, or 0.16%, to N1,338.11/$1 from N1,335.96/$1.

While against other major currencies, it fell by N10.27 to N1,817.02/£1 and by N5.88 to N1,585.12/€1.

Market observers attributed the relative stability to Nigeria’s rising external reserves, which climbed above $48.5 billion as of February 17.

The new reserve level provides the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with additional capacity to support the currency and narrow the gap between official and parallel market rates.

The difference between the official and black-market exchange rate has reduced to about N32 from N92 recorded last week.

BDC to buy dollars from banks

Despite these gains, Bureau De Change (BDC) operators have yet to resume dollar purchases from commercial banks, a week after the CBN reopened the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market to them.

Under new guidelines, licensed BDCs may buy foreign exchange through authorised dealer banks up to a maximum of $150,000 per week, subject to strict regulatory compliance and mandatory reselling of unutilised foreign exchange within 24 hours.

The central bank has also capped cash settlements at 25% of total transaction values to encourage transparency and reduce cash-based FX dealings in the retail market.

Aminu Gwadabe, president of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, spoke to Legit.ng recently on the new CBN directive:

He said:

"The new directives will increase dollar liquidity at the critical retail end of the market and provide a reliable source of dollars to operators.

"In a similar vein, they will usher in positive market sentiment and boost investor confidence in the subsector and Nigeria’s financial industry.

"I also want to use this medium to call on our members to ensure strict compliance with all prudential and AML/CFT obligations.

"Above all, they will enhance transparency, accountability, and price discovery in the foreign exchange market."