The Nigerian naira experienced a demanding week at the official foreign exchange window, extending its losses to close at its weakest weekly level against the United States dollar despite recent regulatory interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to official data released by the CBN, the local currency closed the trading week on Friday, 10 July, at N1,381.70/$1. This marks a 0.85 per cent week-on-week depreciation, representing an N11.70 drop compared to the N1,370.00/$1 closing rate recorded the previous Friday, 3 July.

The local currency faced persistent pressure from market forces, closing lower on four of the five available trading days. The week started with a marginal slip-on Monday, 6 July, as the naira fell by N1 to close at N1,371.00/$1.

Selling pressure accelerated on Tuesday, 7 July, dragging the currency down by another N8 to end the day at N1,379.00/$1.

The slide temporarily paused on Wednesday, 8 July, when the naira held steady at N1,379.00/$1 despite highly volatile intraday trading that saw rates swing between N1,376/$1 and N1,387/$1.

However, a slight fractional drop of N0.25 on Thursday brought the closing rate to N1,379.25/$1, and the downward trend culminated in a final N2.45 loss on Friday, 10 July, leaving the naira at its lowest point of the week.

Data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market highlighted highly fluid trading volumes throughout the week. Market activity initially surged, with total market turnover rising from $220.18m on Monday to a mid-week peak of $504.67m on Wednesday. Liquidity began to cool off by Thursday, dropping to $298.92m, while Friday’s final turnover figures were not reflected in the central bank’s data.

A similar trend played out in the interbank market, where interbank turnover expanded drastically from $54.18m on Monday to $208.09m on Wednesday, before steadily easing back down to close at $71.04m by Friday afternoon.

This latest volatility comes amid ongoing efforts by the Yemi Cardoso-led CBN to stabilise the foreign exchange market through interest rate hikes and the clearance of verified FX backlogs. While the apex bank’s unification of the foreign exchange windows aimed to eliminate arbitrage and attract foreign portfolio investments, seasonal demand for import clearances and foreign tuition payments continues to exert immense pressure on the local currency.

Financial analysts note that while mid-week liquidity injections provided a brief cushion, the consistent daily slide indicates that aggregate demand for international payments continues to outpace available dollar supplies in the official window, requiring bigger structural changes to boost non-oil export revenues.