The apex bank said the total foreign exchange (FX) market turnover in Nigeria grew to $52.47 billion in the first half of 2025, representing an increase of 262.4 per cent compared to $14.48 billion in the previous half year, reflecting improved market participation under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS).
The CBN disclosed the data in its Financial Stability Report for the first half of 2025 published on its website. FX activities recorded significant growth, with sales in the second half of 2024 rising from $3.18 billion to $4.74 billion, while FX purchases stood at $3.97 billion, resulting in net sales of $0.77 billion. The report said there were no new futures transactions during the reporting period.
Meanwhile, according to the CBN, the Naira experienced a slight depreciation of N1.38 on Thursday, with the dollar quoted at N1,422.07 compared to N1,420.69 on Wednesday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
In the parallel market, popularly called the black market, the Naira on Thursday closed at N1,487 per dollar, slightly above N1,490, where it had remained for the last two weeks.
Also read: Why Naira will trade at N1,400–N1,500/$ band
Nigeria's external reserves continued to increase, reaching $45.98 billion by January 21, 2026. The Naira also appreciated by 0.76 per cent from N1,541.36 per dollar as on January 2, 2025 to N1,529.71 per dollar as on June 30, 2025, a reversal of the 1.73 per cent depreciation recorded in the previous half year. 2024 (N1,509.69 → N1,535.82 per dollar). The CBN attributed this appreciation to improved FX liquidity and the adoption of the Nigerian FX Code, which promoted market-based price discovery, transparency and ethical conduct, thereby strengthening investor confidence.
As in the previous half year, there were no new over-the-counter (OTC) FX futures contracts during the reporting period. However, mature contracts amounted to $86.49 million, compared to $78.70 million at the end of December 2024, leading to a significant decline in outstanding FX futures contracts from $88.05 million in the previous half to $1.56 million.
The Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement (BCSA) between the CBN and the People's Bank of China (PBOC), valued at N720.00 billion/CNY15.00 billion and renewed for another three-year period in April 2024, remains active in the first half of 2025. No new transactions were recorded under the agreement during the review period, resulting in cumulative sales of CNY9.22 billion.
The CBN conducted forex examinations of 34 Authorized Dealers (ADs), comprising 29 commercial banks and five merchant banks, to assess compliance with existing forex rules and regulations, verify sources of FX flows and evaluate the use of foreign exchange earned for eligible transactions.
