The nation’s external reserves were $39.4billion as of 14th February 2025, translating to an import cover of 9.6 months for goods and services.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso disclosed this recently after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the bank.
“The externeer3al reserves remained robust at US$39.4 billion as of 14th February 2025, translating to an import cover of 9.6 months for goods and services.
“In addition to this, the Balance of Payments has remained strong with a positive current account balance of US$6.06 billion as at the end of the third quarter of 2024,” he said.
TheFact Daily reports that in November 2024, Nigeria’s external reserves increased to $40.88 billion, up from $40.06 billion in October.
In December 2024, the reserves increased to $42.01 billion, and $40.92 billion as of January 6, 2025. They however, began to decline, dropping to $39.723 billion at at January 31.
Speaking, Mr. Cardoso also said that the Committee highlighted the benefits of the improvements in the external sector to exchange rate stability, including the convergence of rates between the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) and the Bureau de Change (BDC), and urged the Bank not to relent in its effort to boost market liquidity.
In this regard, he said, the Committee acknowledged recent measures introduced by the Bank, such as the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (B-Match) and the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code, to foster transparency, ethics and credibility in the market.
The MPC is, thus, of the view that following major policy measures undertaken by the monetary and fiscal authorities, the flow of foreign direct and portfolio investments as well as diaspora remittances are expected to increase as investor and stakeholder confidence improves.
He said the MPC observed that despite pockets of macroeconomic headwinds confronting the Nigerian economy, the banking system has remained robust and resilient.
Mr. Cardoso said, Members, however, urged the Bank not to relent on its keen surveillance of the banking system, especially at a time of significant exogenous and endogenous headwinds.
In addition, he said, Members called on the Management of the Bank to closely monitor the ongoing recapitalization of the banking system to ensure the injection of quality capital as envisaged in the framework.
Overall, the MPC acknowledged the various policies by the Bank, aimed at anchoring inflation expectations, easing exchange rate pressures, deepening financial inclusion, and improving the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.
