The positive performance of the Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) was extended on Thursday, May 7.
During the trading day, the Nigerian currency further improved against the greenback by N1.49 or 0.11 per cent to N1,355.85/$1 from the previous day’s N1,357.34/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Naira against the Pound Sterling in the official market. It gained N2.02 to trade at N1,845.18/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,847.20/£1, and against the Euro, it appreciated by N1.74 to sell for N1,593.26/€1, in contrast to midweek’s rate of N1,595.00/€1.
But at the black market, the domestic currency traded flat at N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it remained unchanged at N1,375/$1.
The local currency has gained weight in the past trading sessions as a result of improved forex liquidity, especially from foreign portfolio investors, exporters and oil companies, amid moderate demand. Nigerian yields are still attractive for foreign investors, serving as a basis for more (FX) flows coming to Nigeria.
While continued confidence in the FX reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and improved liquidity conditions continue to support the Naira, the external reserves have been on a downward trend. Available data showed that it dropped $7.73 million, from $48.33 billion to $48.32 billion, as of May 6, 2026.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were largely pointing south due to renewed US-Iran tensions, but it remains higher on the week alongside mostly resilient global risk assets.
Funding rates for Bitcoin (BTC) futures have been negative for 67 straight days, creating a powerful setup for a potential short squeeze, with the digital coin losing 1.7 per cent to sell at $79,667.70.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 4.2 per cent to $0.1062, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 2.2 per cent to $2,279.71, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $1.38, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.7 per cent to $0.2619, Binance Coin (BNB) slid by 1.1 per cent to $639.32, and Solana (SOL) went down by 0.4 per cent to $88.22.
However, TRON (TRX) increased its value by 0.9 per cent to $0.3449, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.