External reserves fell by $1.46bn in Q1 2023 – CBN

According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $1.46bn between January and March.

According to the figures shown by the apex bank, Nigeria’s reserves ended February 27, 2023, at $36.67 billion.

Figures obtained from the CBN’s data on the movement of external reserves on Sunday showed that the reserves, which stood at $36.99 billion as of the end of January 1, 2023, fell to $35.53 billion at the end of March 30, 2023.

Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, at the end of last Month’s Monetary Policy Committee Meeting in Abuja, had attributed the decline in external reserves to the fall in crude oil prices globally.

“The committee, however, noted the marginal decline in the level of gross external reserves to $36.13bn in February 2023, from $36.4bn in January 2023, a decrease of 0.7 per cent which is a reflection of the downtrend in crude oil prices, as global uncertainties persist,” he said.

Nigeria’s external reserves declined by $3.43bn in 2022, from $40.52bn as of December 31, 2021, to $37.09bn as of the end of December 29, 2022, according to CBN’s data.

External or international reserves are external assets readily available to and controlled by a country’s monetary authorities.