The Nigerian Naira demonstrated notable resilience and stability against the US Dollar as the trading week concluded on Friday, March 13, 2026, with robust performance attributed to healthy market liquidity and the Central Bank of Nigeria's proactive market management strategies.

In the official window, the Naira began trading at 1,398.74 per dollar and culminated at 1,398.63 by 3:00 AM WAT, with the official mean rate for the entire week consistently hovering around the 1,395 mark, fostering a predictable environment crucial for corporate planning and international trade operations.

The parallel market closely mirrored the official window, with the US dollar exchanged at rates between 1,405 and 1,415 per dollar, while the spread between the official and "black market" windows remained impressively narrow at approximately 1% to 1.2%.

Traders in informal sectors reported that the CBN's consistent weekly supply of foreign exchange to Bureau De Change operators had effectively satisfied retail demand, playing a pivotal role in eliminating the speculative "panic buying" tendencies that historically propelled the informal rate to extreme highs.

Nigeria's external reserves demonstrated impressive strength by surpassing the 50 billion dollar milestone, providing the CBN with considerable firepower to manage liquidity and defend the currency against potential external shocks.

A positive disinflationary trend was evident, with headline inflation cooling to 15.10%, signifying that the real value of the Naira is experiencing its strongest performance in years, significantly boosting both domestic and foreign investor confidence.

Energy sector reforms, particularly increased output from domestic refineries, have substantially reduced demand for foreign exchange typically allocated for fuel imports, while stable crude oil production near 1.46 million barrels per day ensures a reliable stream of foreign currency inflows into the national coffers.

As the market transitioned into the weekend, analysts projected the Naira would conclude the week within the 1,395 to 1,405 range, with the coming week's attention shifting towards global market reactions to US Federal Reserve policy signals that could influence the broader dollar strength against emerging market currencies.