$595m flows into Nigeria’s foreign reserves in 72 hours

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recorded an inflow of $595 million into the country’s foreign exchange reserves in just 72 hours.

According to CBN data, a total amount of $594,862,612 flowed into the foreign reserves between August 24 to August 29 – three trading days.

The reserves moved from an 11-year low of $25,600,746,725 on Wednesday to a monthly-high of $26,195,609,337 on Monday.

Nigeria has been battling low oil prices, which had seen its foreign exchange receipt fall from about $4 billion a month to less than $500 million per month.

The CBN had employed various method to rev-up the reserves, including a 16-month peg on the naira exchange rate, with a majority of it amounting to a further depletion of the reserves in defence of the naira.

The gross external reserves at the end of the second quarter of 2016 stood at $26.51 billion, showing a decline of 3percent and 6.5 percent, compared with the levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2015, respectively.

However, the lastest combination of policies by the CBN seem to be yielding some results, with the inflow of forex and the registration of 11 new International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs).

The CBN says it remains committed to implementing an holistic suite of policies, capable of maintaining financial stability in the Nigerian economic system.