Nigeria’s forex reserves rise for 4 consecutive weeks

The Nigerian foreign exchange (forex) reserves have been on the increase for four consecutive weeks, TheCable can report.

According to latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the reserves have been on the rise for at least 24 days.

At the beginning of November, the reserves stood at $23.95 billion but had risen by $657.7 million as of Friday, November 25, 2016.

The biggest increase for the month was recorded between Friday and Monday, November 18 to 20 — the weekend before the last monetary policy committee meeting for 2016.

Before the last MPC meeting, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, had said Nigeria’s forex inflow had been on the increase, emphasizing that the decision of the bank to employ a flexible exchange rate system was yielding results.

“The Committee observed that total foreign exchange inflows through the CBN increased by 89.14 percent, from US$1,092.21 million recorded in July to US$2,065.79 million in August 2016,” Emefiele had said.

“This increase was due mainly to receipts of foreign flows within the month. Total outflows, however, decreased by 4.57 per cent from US$2,728.12 million to US$2,603.35 during the same period.”

Though the reserves have been hovering around its 11-year low, the increase in inflow has maintained a steady cause since August.

Before 2016, the last time Nigeria’s foreign reserves touched $23 billion was in October 2005.