The naira has appreciated against the British pound sterling, euro, and Canadian dollar since the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
On November 26, 2024, the CBN directed all banks operating in the interbank foreign exchange market to adopt the Bloomberg BMatch System for trading. The platform, which went live on December 2, 2024, was introduced to enhance transparency and improve operational efficiency in Nigeria’s FX market.
As a result, the naira strengthened against the British pound sterling by 209.01/ £, reflecting an 11.02 percent gain. According to the CBN data, the pound was quoted at N1,896.62 as of February 21, 2025, compared to N2,105.63 recorded on December 2, 2024, when EFEMS began operations.
At the parallel market, popularly known as the black market, the naira appreciated to 1,920/ £ against the pound as of February 2, 2025 compared to an average rate of 2,238/£in December 2024.
The naira also strengthened against the euro in the official market, gaining 176.67/ € or 11.3 percent to close at 1,569.16/ € on February 21, 2025 from 1,745.83/ € seen on December 2, 2024, the day the EFEMS commenced trading.
