The naira edged lower against the United States dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) on Monday, August 25, closing at N1,346.98 per dollar, a drop of 49 kobo or 0.04 per cent from the previous session's N1,346.49 per dollar.

The Nigerian currency also lost ground against the British pound, settling at N1,837.54 per pound compared with N1,836.75 per pound recorded on Friday, a decline of 79 kobo.

Against the euro, however, the naira posted a modest recovery, gaining N1.59 to trade at N1,571.54 per euro, up from N1,573.11 in the preceding session.

Parallel Market and Interbank Activity At the parallel market, the naira held steady against the dollar at N1,390 per dollar, unchanged from Friday's rate.

The exchange rate at the GTBank foreign exchange desk also remained flat at N1,355 per dollar.

Traders confirmed the dollar's position relative to the naira at the parallel market.

One trader said:

"We sold the dollar at N1,390/$1 on Monday, compared with N1,390/$1 on Friday." Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data showed that interbank foreign exchange turnover fell by 4.4% to $152.592 million, down from $159.732 million in the previous session.

The number of FX transactions also dropped sharply, declining to 144 deals from 294 recorded the session before.

Analysts see stability ahead

Market analysts said they expect the naira to hold within a relatively stable range in the near term. Investment firm AIICO Capital said in a note:

"We expect that the current stability experienced at the FX market will remain in the interim as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) further refines existing policies in line with fiscal steps taken by the FGN to ensure liquidity within the space."

CBN official rates snapshot

CBN data showed the following exchange rates against the naira as of Monday:

.CFA: N2.40

.Yuan/Renminbi: N200.37

.Danish krone: N210.16

.Euro: N1,571.52

.Yen: N8.46

.Riyal: N358.73

.South African rand: N84.11

.SDR: N1,848.46

.Swiss franc: N1,678.89

.Swiss franc: N1,678.89

.Pound sterling: N1,837.54

.US dollar: N1,346.98

.WAUA: N1,849.43

.UAE dirham: N366.71