External reserves drop by $86.62m to $36.99bn in January

External reserves depreciated by $86.62million in January as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intensified its effort at intervening in the foreign exchange market. 

The external exchange buffer that opened in 2022 at $37.08billion dropped by 0.23per cent to $36.99billion as of January 2023. 

Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $3.43billion in 2022, according to CBN

The CBN disclosed in its movement on external reserves figures that the reserves which stood at $40.52billion as of the end of December 31, 2021, ended December 29, 2022 at $37.09billion.

At the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the CBN in November, the apex bank’s governor, Godwin Emefiele, said: “The committee observed the decline in the external reserves position, as gross external reserves decreased by 1.34 per cent at end-October 2022 to $36.87billion, from $37.39billion at end-September 2022.

“With indications of lower crude oil prices in the futures market, members urged the Bank to sustain its current policies to boost non-oil exports in order to shore up the external reserves.”

A member of the MPC, Robert Asogwa, said: “The recent drop in external reserves is, however, linked to the decline in oil exports even at a time of higher oil prices.

“Interestingly, the publicised reduction in oil thefts across the Niger delta and the rising prospects of increased overseas remittances would likely boost the gross external reserves to a large extent in early 2023.”