Nigeria’s External Reserves are steadily heading towards the
$50 billion mark, berthing at $46 billion as at the close of business on
Friday, March 9, 2018.
Figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at
the weekend indicate that the reserves grew by about $3.2 billion between
February and March 2018. The reserves at the beginning of 2018 stood at $39.3
billion, then rose to $42.8 in February before hitting the new high of $46
billion.
Confirming the figures, the CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications
Department, Isaac Okorafor attributed the continued accretion to the country’s
reserves to the Bank’s effort at vigorously discouraging unnecessary
importation and reducing the nation’s import Bill; inflow from oil and non-oil
exports, as well as the huge inflows through the investors and exporters window
of the foreign exchange market, which he said had attracted over $33 billion
since April 2017, when it was created.
According to him, the Bank’s interventions in the foreign
exchange window had also helped to moderate the pressure on the FOREX reserves
by sustaining liquidity in the market and boosting production and trade.
Okorafor also noted that the CBN policy restricting access to FOREX from
Nigeria’s foreign exchange market to importers of some 41 items had made a huge
impact on the status of Nigeria’s reserves and boosted the supply of local
substitutes for imported goods, created jobs at home and enhanced the incomes
of farmers and local manufacturers.
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