Nigeria’s naira has suffered its steepest decline against the US dollar, falling to N1,552.53 per dollar on Thursday from N1,531.25 on Wednesday, as global markets react to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement.
This N21.28 single-day drop marks the sharpest depreciation since March 22, underscoring growing pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market. The parallel market mirrored this trend, with the naira sliding to N1,560 per dollar, further deepening concerns over currency stability.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had recently highlighted a positive development, reporting a Net Foreign Exchange Reserve (NFER) of $23.11 billion, the highest in over three years. However, this surge in reserves has done little to shield the naira from external shocks triggered by Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariff policy, which directly impacts US-Nigeria trade valued at $10 billion.
According to Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, the tariffs effectively signal the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)—a vital trade policy that granted Nigerian exporters preferential access to US markets. “This could have implications for the naira exchange rate,” Yusuf warned.
As analysts brace for further volatility, all eyes remain on the CBN’s next move to stabilize the currency in the face of escalating global trade tensions.
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