The country’s external reserves fell by $317m in February, according to figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN’s data on the movement of foreign reserves showed that the figure which stood at $36.99bn as of January 31, 2023, fell to $36.67bn as of February 27, 2023.
In January, the reserves fell by $63.62m from $37.08bn at the end of December 30, 2022
Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $3.43bn in 2022 after dropping from $40.52bn as of the end of December 31, 2021.
At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in January, the Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, said the committee noted the marginal decline in the external reserves in December.
He said, “This reflects the exchange rate pressure accentuated by a combination of heightened demand and slow accretion to reserves.”
A member of the MPC, Mike Obadan, in his report to explain the external sector developments, said, “These relate mainly to high exchange rates, foreign exchange market pressures and dwindling external reserves. These appeared to have worsened in 2022 because of both external and domestic shocks.
