The naira strengthened further against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

It reached a five-month high of about N1,338.59 per dollar. The latest movement places the naira among the stronger-performing currencies in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

Improved dollar liquidity and rising external reserves continue to support the local currency.

For Friday, August 28, the latest available market data puts the dollar at around N1,341.66 per dollar.

The NFEM closing rate for the day will depend on trading activity and may differ from live indicative rates.

Recent official-market data had shown the naira at N1,343.59 per dollar on Wednesday, August 26.

The currency strengthened further on Thursday.

The improvement has been linked to sustained dollar liquidity and stronger external buffers.

In the parallel market, the dollar remained substantially higher than the official rate.

AbokiFX-related market reports showed the greenback quoted around N1,400 to buy and N1,410 to sell on Thursday, August 27.

This means Nigerians looking to buy $1 in the parallel market would need about N1,410.

Those selling $1 could receive around N1,400, depending on the dealer and location.

The gap between the official and parallel markets remains significant.

Based on the latest indicative official rate of about N1,341.66 and a parallel-market selling rate of N1,410, the difference is approximately N68 per dollar.

The naira’s recent gains have coincided with a sharp improvement in Nigeria’s foreign-exchange reserves.

It was reported that external reserves had risen to about $53.34 billion, an 18-year high.

Improved dollar liquidity has helped ease pressure on the local currency.

For importers, travellers, students paying overseas tuition and businesses with dollar obligations, the exchange rate remains an important factor in determining the naira cost of foreign transactions.

However, the actual rate available to customers may differ from the NFEM benchmark or parallel-market quotation.

Banks, Bureau de Change operators and other authorised dealers may apply different rates depending on the transaction, amount, location and prevailing market conditions.

Parallel-market rates are unofficial and can change several times during the day.

The Central Bank of Nigeria does not recognise the parallel market as an official foreign-exchange market.

As of the morning of August 28, 2026, the dollar is therefore trading around N1,341.66 on the latest indicative market data.

Parallel-market quotations remain around N1,400 to N1,410 per dollar.