The naira has stabilized at N1,538.50 per dollar in the foreign exchange market, marking the end of a recent appreciation trend.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria released on Monday indicated that the exchange rate was N1,538.50 per dollar, a slight decrease from the N1,535 recorded on Friday.

This reflects a depreciation of N3.5.

In the black market, the naira also weakened, closing at N1,630 per dollar on Monday, down from N1,600 the previous week.

This marks the first instance of the naira experiencing depreciation shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria implemented the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) to enhance transparency in foreign exchange transactions.

The Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise has credited the recent appreciation of the naira against the dollar to the newly introduced EFEMS by the CBN and an increase in the nation’s external reserves.