The naira on Friday strengthened against the dollar after weeks of free-fall at the parallel market.

The currency gained N10 to exchange at N270 to the dollar after it nosedived to N280 on Thursday.

At the official interbank window, it gained N0.03 to close at N196.97 to the dollar.

Traders at the market told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that currency speculators were afraid that the naira could sell below their expectations and this forced them to release foreign exchange for sale.

Meanwhile, Evans Osabouhien of the Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun, has said that during the Yuletide, Nigerians living abroad would be coming home with a lot of foreign currencies.

Mr. Osabouhien said this would help reduce the pressure on the foreign exchange market and strengthen the naira.

(NAN)