Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate Today — Friday, 7 August 2026

The naira weakened slightly against the dollar on Friday, 7 August 2026, with black market rates settling at ₦1,421.82 to buy and ₦1,432.06 to sell — a day-on-day decline of 0.30 percent in the parallel market as pressure on the local currency persisted heading into the weekend.

The move, though modest, draws renewed attention to the persistent gap between what traders are willing to exchange dollars for on the streets and what the Central Bank of Nigeria officially sanctions. The CBN official rate stood at ₦1,365.10 on Friday, leaving a spread of roughly ₦56.72 on the sell side when compared against the parallel market figure. That divergence, which economists and currency analysts have long flagged as a source of distortion, remains one of the more delicate challenges facing monetary authorities as they attempt to consolidate the naira's post-unification trajectory.

The CBN has in recent months signalled its commitment to defending the naira through a combination of foreign exchange interventions and a tighter monetary policy stance. However, analysts note that sustained intervention requires adequate reserve buffers, and any perception that reserves are being drawn down faster than they are being replenished tends to embolden parallel market operators. Friday's marginal uptick in the dollar rate, while not alarming in isolation, reflects that underlying tension between policy signalling and market sentiment.

Other major currencies tracked in the parallel market painted a broadly consistent picture. Sterling traded at ₦1,902.51 on the buy side and ₦1,922.84 on the sell side, according to the latest pounds-to-naira data. The euro, meanwhile, exchanged at ₦1,586.65 to buy and ₦1,606.93 to sell, reflecting the relative strength of both European currencies against a naira still navigating volatile demand conditions.

Policy watchers point out that closing the gap between the official and parallel rates meaningfully will require not just intervention but a credible and consistent supply of dollars through formal channels — whether from export proceeds, diaspora remittances, or portfolio inflows attracted by competitive interest rates. Until that supply becomes more predictable, the parallel market will continue to serve as a pressure valve, pricing in risk that the official window does not fully absorb.

For readers with upcoming dollar needs, monitoring the dollar-to-naira rate daily remains essential, as weekend liquidity shifts can produce sharper moves when banking activity resumes on Monday.