The Central Bank of Nigeria have said the country’s external reserves rose by $136m in two weeks.
The CBN disclosed this on Thursday, in its figures on movement on external reserves that the reserves which stood at $37.07bn as of January 3, 2023 rose to $37.2bn as of the end of January 18, 2023.
According to The PUNCH, Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $3.43bn in 2022. The CBN disclosed that the reserves which stood at $40.52bn as of the end of December 31, 2021, ended December 29, 2022 at $37.09bn.
At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting, a member, Robert Asogwa, stated that he expected improvement in the country’s external reserves in 2023.
He said, “The external sector is now looking resilient with reduced balance of payments pressures compared with the position in 2021.
“CBN staff report shows that in the second quarter of 2022, the balance of payments recorded a surplus equivalent to about 0.08 per cent of GDP and this emanated from the current account balance which has now recorded a positive surplus for a fifth consecutive quarter.
“The recent drop in external reserves is, however, linked to the decline in oil exports even at a time of higher oil prices. Interestingly, the publicised reduction in oil thefts across the Niger delta and the rising prospects of increased overseas remittances would likely boost the gross external reserves to a large extent in early 2023.”
