Cardoso: Nigeria’s foreign reserves now $37bn — up by $2bn in 18 days

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased to $37.05 billion as of July 18.

Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, spoke on Tuesday during a press briefing at the end of the 296th monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

Cardoso said the external reserves rose from $34.70 billion as of the end of June to $37.05 billion — indicating an increase of $2.35 billion in about 18 days.

“As of July 18, 2024, external reserves stood at US$37.05 billion, compared with US$34.70 billion as of June 2024. This represents 11 months of import cover for goods and services,” Cardoso said.

However, according to data published by CBN and seen by TheCable, Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood between $35.93 billion as of July 18, and $36.23 billion as of July 22 – less than what Cardoso presented.

On July 18, CBN approved the sale of foreign exchange (FX) to eligible bureau de change (BDC) operators at N1,450 per dollar to meet the demand for invisible transactions.

Days after, CBN said foreign currencies worth $106.5 million were sold to authorised dealers.

CBN said the aim is to improve supply in the FX market in tandem with its price stability mandate.