The naira has strengthened beyond the N1,500 per euro threshold for the first time since April 2024, closing at N1,497 per euro, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The move marks a further recovery for the naira against the European currency after the exchange rate rose above N1,500 following Nigeria’s foreign exchange market reforms and the naira’s devaluation in 2024.
The naira had weakened to as high as N1,800 per euro during the period of heightened volatility in the foreign exchange market.
The latest appreciation has been driven largely by weakness in the euro against the US dollar, while the naira has remained relatively stable against the dollar in the domestic market.
The EUR/NGN exchange rate has fallen from around N1,684 per euro late last year to N1,497, representing a decline of about 11 per cent.
The euro fell 0.8 per cent to $1.1161 during Asian trading, reaching its weakest level since May 2025 as investors reacted to renewed concerns over political and fiscal stability across the Eurozone.
Because the naira-dollar exchange rate has remained relatively stable, movements in the euro-dollar exchange rate have had a significant impact on the naira-euro cross rate.
The naira has traded within a narrow range of N1,327-N1,330 per dollar in the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), supported by improved FX liquidity and relatively stable foreign exchange reserves.
The development has also coincided with a narrowing gap between the official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
The dollar has traded around N1,370-N1,390 in the parallel market, compared with about N1,327-N1,330 in the official market.
