The World Bank has stated that naira showed strong resilience compared to many other currencies on the continent, even during a difficult period for African foreign exchange markets. In its Africa Economic Update for October 2026, the Bank explained that rising tension in the Middle East pushed up global energy prices and forced investors to move money out of Africa, creating serious pressure on currencies across the continent.
Despite this tough environment between March and June, Nigeria’s naira held up well. Its biggest drop during that period was only 2.6%, which the World Bank described as relatively small when compared to other countries.
Other African currencies suffered bigger losses. Ghana’s cedi recorded the worst performance, falling by as much as 10%. The currencies of South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini fell by up to 7.2%, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda dropped by 6% and 5% respectively.
The report covered 22 African countries outside the CFA franc zone. It noted that seven of them lost more than 5% of their value during the period.
The World Bank said Nigeria’s position as a major crude oil exporter helped reduce the pressure on the naira, as higher oil prices benefited oil selling countries.
By August, the pressure had eased for many currencies. The naira recovered 1.9% from its lowest point between March and June. In contrast, Ghana’s cedi was still 2.5% below its February level, Uganda was down by 3.1%, and South Sudan was down by 5.5%. By the end of August, only 10 of the 22 currencies tracked were still weaker than they were at the end of February.
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