External Reserves Slide Further To $35bn

Figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria have revealed that the country’s external reserves fell by $112.78m in two weeks to $35.42bn.

Figures obtained from the CBN’s data on the movement of external reserves on Monday showed that the reserves, which stood at $36.99bn as of the end of January 1, 2023, fell to $36.67bn as of February 27, 2023, and $35.53bn as of the end of March 30, 2023.

At the last Monetary Policy Committee in Abuja in March, the Governor, CBN, attributed the decline in the external reserves to the fall in crude oil price.

Analysts at Cordros Securities stated in its report on ‘Profound market insight on the go’  released on Friday that, “We believe FX liquidity issues will remain over the short-to-medium term as we do not see any positive signal that denotes an improvement in FX supply relative to the pre-pandemic levels.

“Moreover, considering the tepid accretion to the reserves given (1) low crude oil production and (2) elevated PMS under-recovery costs, FPIs who have historically supported supply levels in the IEW will be needed to sustain FX liquidity levels in the medium to long-term.”