The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed the country’s external reserves decreased by $1.46bn between January and March.
The reserves amounted to $36.67 billion by February 27, 2023.
The data from the CBN shows that the reserves were at $36.99 billion by the end of January 2023, but decreased to $35.53 billion by the end of March 30, 2023.
The Governor of the CBN stated that the drop in crude oil prices was responsible for the decline in external reserves at the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in March held in Abuja.
“The committee, however, noted the marginal decline in the level of gross external reserves to $36.13bn in February 2023, from $36.4bn in January 2023, a decrease of 0.7 per cent, reflecting the downtrend in crude oil prices, as global uncertainties persist,” he said
Based on data from the CBN, Nigeria’s external reserves declined by $3.43 billion in 2022, dropping from $40.52 billion at the end of December 31, 2021 to $37.09 billion by the end of December 29, 2022.
According to The Punch, the CBN had previously launched the ‘RT200 FX Programme’ in 2022 with the aim of increasing forex supply in the country through the non-oil sector within the next three to five years.
During the launch of the RT200 FX Programme, Emefiele explained that it consisted of policies, plans, and programs for non-oil exports.
The goal was to achieve $200 billion in FX repatriation exclusively from non-oil exports in the next three to five years.
Emefiele also highlighted that the program had five significant pillars: value-adding exports facility, non-oil commodities expansion facility, non-oil FX rebate scheme, dedicated non-oil export terminal, and biannual non-oil export summit.
