The naira weakened slightly against the US dollar on Tuesday in the official foreign exchange market as trading activity declined.

Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the naira depreciated by N4.75, with the dollar quoted at N1,364.89 at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, compared with N1,360.14 on Monday.

The Tuesday rate represents a 0.35 per cent decline in the value of the naira against the dollar.

In the parallel market, the naira remained unchanged at N1,425 per dollar.

Trading activity at the interbank segment also declined sharply. Total turnover fell 86.41 per cent to $29.06m on Tuesday from $213.85m recorded on Monday.

The number of deals dropped 74.18 per cent to 47 from 182 deals recorded in the previous session.

Although NFEM turnover and deal figures for Tuesday were not available at the time of reporting, activity had also moderated in the previous session. Turnover fell 48.24 per cent to $646.51m on Monday from $1.25bn recorded on Friday.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves continued to rise, reaching $52.14bn as of 10 August 2026, according to CBN data.

The latest figure represents a 29.41 per cent increase from the $40.29bn recorded on 8th August 2025.

The sustained growth in reserves provides the CBN with stronger buffers to meet external obligations and support orderly conditions in the foreign exchange market.

The central bank also increased foreign exchange sales to about $1.4bn in July from $320m in June to meet seasonal demand pressures.

Despite Tuesday’s marginal depreciation, analysts at Quest Merchant Bank said Nigeria’s external position remained positive, with reserves expected to strengthen further on the back of supportive oil prices, capital inflows and the monetary authorities’ policy framework.

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