Recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, indicates that Nigeria’s external reserves have reached $35.05bn as of July 8, 2024.
This is the first time it has crossed the $35bn ceiling under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
According to CBN’s data on external reserves, as of May 30, 2023, the reserves were $35.09bn, about 14 days before the introduction of the foreign exchange (FX) unification policy in June 2023.
However, when the CBN announced the FX unification policy, the external reserves dropped to $34.66bn.
From July to December 2023, the reserves fluctuated within the $33bn range.
This year, the reserves plunged to a low of $32.11bn on April 19, 2024, according to the data.
While addressing the reason behind the drop, the CBN’s Governor blamed the decreasing reserves primarily due to debt repayments and other standard financial obligations, rather than efforts to defend the naira.
Analysed CBN’s data, revealed a surge in exchange rate in the last few weeks ending the month of June above $34bn for the first time since April. The reserves have continued to grow in July, reaching the highest reserve in the last year.
Since the lowest level of $32.11bn under Tinubu in April, the external reserves have surged by $2.94bn in less than three months, according to the CBN data.
The CBN had said it plans to double the Diasporas’ remittance inflow this year through a steady flow of foreign exchange into the country.
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