Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves Hit 31-Month High of $33b

September 15, 2017
Reserves

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

External reserves of one of Africa’s biggest economies, Nigeria, have hit a 31-month high of $33 billion.

This information was revealed by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, while speaking  on Thursday at the ongoing 24th seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors in Awka, Anambra State.

The apex bank chief, represented by the bank’s spokesman, Mr Isaac Okorafor, noted that this feat was achieved due to the relative peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of the country, which resulted into increased oil output and earnings.

The Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, earlier this year, held consultative meetings with leaders in the Niger Delta, appealing to them to urge their youths to stop attacks on oil installations in the region.

Nigeria depends solely on oil for forex and the fall in the global prices of the commodity was affecting the country because of serious drop in output.

As at August 29, 2017, the reserves, checked on Friday morning (today) by Business Post as at the time of this reporting on the CBN website, stood at $31.8 billion.

Speaking further at the conference, Mr Okorafor said the apex bank will continue to grow the reserves so as to support the economy.

The CBN, mostly on a weekly basis, intervene in the foreign exchange market from the external reserves.

This week, the bank released $250 million to various segments of the market in order to reduce the huge pressure on Naira.

The bank said it will continue to play its vital part in the country’s economy, which only exited recession in the second quarter of this year, according to data released this month by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Modupe Gbadeyanka

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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