Nigeria’s Gross Foreign Reserves Hit 17-Year High of $51.04bn

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The gross foreign reserves of Nigeria reached a 17-year high of $51.04 billion, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows.

Business Post gathered from the apex bank’s website that this new feat was achieved on Thursday, June 18, 2026.

A day earlier, which was Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the amount in the country’s external reserves stood at $50.96 billion, indicating accretion of 0.16 per cent.

This latest development is expected to strengthen the value of the Nigerian Naira in the foreign exchange (FX) market.

It was observed that since the beginning of this month, the amount in the forex reserves has been building up gradually after an initial scare.

It is believed that inflows from crude oil sales have been boosting the reserves, though prices are expected to trend downward as a result of the ceasefire deals between the United States and Iran on Friday.

The price of crude oil has cooled to around $80 per barrel. It should further moderate to its level before February 28, 2026, when the bombardment of Iran started, which led to the death of the country’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.