Nigeria’s foreign exchange market recorded major momentum in 2025, with average monthly turnover rising to $8.6 billion, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This development signals renewed investor confidence and relief for the naira, which has faced years of pressure from foreign exchange shortages and speculative activities.
The CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy, Mohammed Sani Abdullahi, disclosed this on Wednesday at an investor forum held on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, where he outlined impressive growth in foreign exchange rotation reforms designed to improve liquidity, boost transparency and strengthen Nigeria’s external reserves.
“Over the last two years, we have placed great emphasis on improving foreign exchange flows into the economy and as a result, we have seen a significant jump,” Abdullahi said.
He explained that the official foreign exchange window has become more liquid following the introduction of an order-based pricing system, improved diaspora remittance flows and the clearance of foreign exchange arrears and outstanding obligations that had limited market confidence.
“There has been a significant increase in average monthly turnover to $8.6 billion in 2025, compared to $5.5 billion the previous year,” he added.
“Today, the CBN is a net buyer in the market and supplies less than one per cent of the total turnover.”
The deputy governor noted that the CBN has been rebuilding external reserves to strengthen the country’s resilience against global economic crises.
He described the evolving foreign exchange market as “an active and ethical market”, where transactions are carried out with greater transparency.
In a related development, Abdullahi announced the ongoing collaboration between the CBN, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to reform the secondary market. The goal, he said, is to create more investment instruments, deepen participation and promote ethical standards among market actors.
He stressed that Nigeria now has “deeper, more functional and transparent financial markets” capable of supporting sustainable economic growth.
Financial analysts say improved foreign exchange turnover, coupled with reduced CBN intervention, could further stabilize the naira, attract foreign portfolio inflows and strengthen investor confidence, laying the foundation for a stronger macroeconomic outlook for 2026.
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