The Nigerian naira has depreciated against the US dollar at the parallel foreign exchange market, ending the week on a negative note despite showing marginal gains in the official market.

According to Abubakar Alhasan, a Bureau de Change operator in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, the naira dropped to N1,635 against the dollar on Friday from N1,625 recorded on Thursday, representing a N10 depreciation on a day-to-day basis.

"On Friday we buy at N1625 per dollar and sell at N1635," Alhasan stated.

Meanwhile, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed a different trend in the official market, where the naira marginally appreciated to N1,598.72 per dollar on Friday from N1,599.32 exchanged the previous day, reflecting a slight strengthening of N0.6.

The naira has experienced continued fluctuations throughout the week under review, with more gains than losses recorded across foreign exchange markets. This development coincides with the latest Consumer Price Index data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed Nigeria's headline inflation declining to 23.7 percent in April.

The CBN's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet next week on May 19th and 20th to determine whether to maintain or tighten the country's monetary policy stance. In February, the MPC retained Nigeria's interest rate at 27.50 percent.

Financial analysts are closely watching the upcoming MPC meeting, as its decisions could significantly impact the naira's performance in both official and parallel markets in the coming weeks.