Forex Reserves in Nigeria Top $35 Billion, CBN Reports

As of July 8, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria reported that Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $35.05 billion.

This is the first time under President Bola Tinubu’s administration that it has exceeded the $35 billion cap.

The CBN’s statistics on external reserves shows that as of May 30, 2023, the reserves stood at $35.09 billion, or roughly 14 days prior to the foreign exchange (FX) unification policy being introduced in June 2023.

However, the external reserves fell to $34.66 billion when the CBN announced the FX unification strategy.

Between July 2023 and December 2023, the reserves varied by about $33 billion.

Based on data, the reserves fell to a low of $32.11 billion on April 19, 2024.

In addressing the cause of the decline, the governor of the central bank pointed mainly to the declining reserves as a result of debt repayments and other regular financial responsibilities rather than attempts to support the naira.

The exchange rate surged above $34 billion for the first time since April in the final weeks of June, according to an analysis of CBN data. The reserves increased further in July, hitting their greatest level in the previous 12 months.

The CBN data shows that the external reserves have increased by $2.94 billion in less than three months since they were at their lowest point of $32.11 billion under Tinubu in April.

With a consistent infusion of foreign currency into the nation, the CBN had stated that it intended to double the amount of remittances received from the diaspora this year.