Naira vs USD: Nigeria’s FX reserves drop to $32.29bn

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves plummeted to $32.29 billion amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts at defending the Naira and dwindling crude oil revenue.

Data from CBN’s website showed that Nigeria’s FX fell by $2.16 billion in the last 29 days.

The country’s FX reserves stood at $32.29 billion on April 15 from $34.45 billion on March 18.

This is the lowest since September 25, 2017, when Nigeria’s FX dropped to $32.28 billion.

Recall that in the past months, Naira had continued appreciation against the Dollar amid sustained policy efforts by CBN to defend the country’s currency.

On two occasions in recent months, CBN had sold USD to the Bureau De Change operators at a benchmarked rate, closing the gap between the official and parallel market rates.

The development led to a prolonged appreciation of the Naira against the Dollar in the FX market.

However, the Naira recorded a marginal loss against the Dollar for the first time since March.

The development comes amid declined crude oil revenue in March.

According to data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped to 1.23 million barrels per day in March from 1.32 bpd in February.