The naira recovers to ₦1,345.76 per dollar, 1.56% stronger than its October peak
The official rate reversed most of its late October slide but still closed the month weaker than September.
Key findings
- The official rate closed October at ₦1,345.76 per US dollar on 30 October.
- That is 1.56% below the ₦1,367.11 peak on 26 October, the naira's weakest level since July.
- The rate fell 1.08% on 27 October, the naira's largest one-day gain since March.
- The naira still ended October 1.29% weaker than its September close of ₦1,328.66.
The naira closed October at ₦1,345.76 per US dollar on the Central Bank of Nigeria's official rate on 30 October, recovering most of the ground it lost in the second half of the month. The rate had peaked at ₦1,367.11 on 26 October, the naira's weakest official level since July, and then fell 1.56% over the rest of the week.
The turn came on 27 October, when the rate fell 1.08% in a day to ₦1,352.37, the naira's largest one-day gain since March. It eased further on each of the next three days. Against the ₦1,361.34 recorded on 23 October, the naira ended the week 1.14% stronger.
The recovery did not undo the whole month. The naira still closed October 1.29% weaker than its September close of ₦1,328.66, and the October average of ₦1,338.49 was above September's ₦1,326.81. The month opened at ₦1,329.60 on 2 October.
CBN official central rate. A higher rate means a weaker naira.
- Official rate, 30 October
- ₦1,345.76
- October peak, 26 October
- ₦1,367.11
- Change since the peak
- -1.56%
Why it matters
The slide in the week to 26 October was the first real pressure on the naira since the Monetary Policy Committee cut the policy rate in September, and a sustained move would have fed through to import costs and inflation. A quick reversal suggests the market absorbed the pressure rather than resetting to a weaker level. The naira nonetheless ended October weaker than it began, so the month as a whole still points to softer conditions than the stable September.
What to watch
- Whether the official rate holds below its late October peak through November.
- October inflation from the National Bureau of Statistics, which will show whether the brief weakening reached prices.
- The CBN's Treasury bill and OMO auctions, where yields signal how tightly liquidity is being managed.
Methodology
We use the CBN's official central rate for the US dollar from Dataminal's exchange-rate dataset, comparing daily rates in the second half of October 2026 and the monthly close and average for September and October 2026. Percentage changes are computed from the central rate, where a fall in the rate is a stronger naira. The one-day and weakest-level comparisons are against daily rates since March 2025.