Despite a relatively stable foreign exchange market and a significant increase in the country’s external reserves, the naira narrowly missed out on the list of Africa’s 10 best-performing currencies in the month of May.
Data compiled from African central banks showed that the naira ranked 12th on the continent after appreciating by 0.15 per cent against the U.S dollar during the month.
The local currency strengthened to N1,372/$ at the end of May from N1,374/$ at the beginning of the month.
While the gain was modest compared to the continent’s top performers, experts say the naira’s stability reflects improving market conditions and reduced volatility in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
The Zambian kwacha emerged as Africa’s best-performing currency in May, followed by the Egyptian pound and the Namibian dollar. Other currencies that made the top 10 list were South Africa’s rand, the Seychellois rupee, Eswatini’s lilangeni, Lesotho’s loti, Botswana’s pula, the Congolese franc, and Morocco’s dirham.
