Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to $35 billion, marking the first time in over a year that they have reached this level, during the tenure of President Tinubu.
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves experienced a rise, reaching $35.05 billion on July 8, marking the highest level since May 30, 2023.
As per the information provided by the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), there has been a notable increase in the foreign reserves,
amounting to $280 million. This rise brings the total reserves to $34.77
billion, as of July 5.
The nation's foreign reserves demonstrated a consistent
upward trend throughout the month of July, culminating in the highest level
observed thus far in the current calendar year.
The foreign reserves experienced a gradual increase from
July 1 to 4, rising from $34.34 billion to $34.43 billion, $34.55 billion, and
$34.66 billion, respectively.
The most recent data represents a significant milestone, as
Nigeria’s external reserves have not reached such levels since May 30, 2023,
when they stood at $35.09 billion. This date marked the day after the current
administration assumed office.
Since President Bola Tinubu took office, the federal
government, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has
implemented various strategic policies aimed at enhancing the foreign exchange
(FX) market and bolstering the stability of the Nigerian naira.
One of the most recent directives issued by the central bank
instructs banks to consolidate all surplus foreign currency notes at their
Lagos or Abuja branches.
“In order to deepen the foreign exchange market, boost
liquidity and attain convergence in the exchange rates of the parallel and
official markets, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved that DMBs may
deposit their excess foreign currency notes with Lagos and Abuja branches of
the Bank,” CBN had said.
“The approval is a response to the increasing demand by DMBs
to deposit their forex cash with CBN for onward credit to their off-shore
accounts with the correspondent banks.”
On June 25, Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), expressed cautious optimism regarding the progress
achieved in stabilizing the Nigerian naira.
In the midst of the favorable trend in foreign reserves, the
naira experienced a depreciation at the end of Wednesday’s trading session. It
was recorded at N1,561 against the dollar in the official foreign exchange
market.