Nigeria’s external reserves reached $35.05 billion on July 8, marking the highest level since May 30, 2023, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a significant increase of $280 million from the $34.77 billion recorded on July 5.
The steady increase in the reserves began in early July, as the reserves climbed from $34.34 billion on July 1 to $34.43 billion, $34.55 billion, and $34.66 billion in the subsequent days. This trend culminated in the highest reserve level seen so far in 2023.
The last time Nigeria’s foreign reserves hit such levels was on May 30, 2023, at $35.09 billion, just one day after President Bola Tinubu assumed office. Under his administration, several policies have been introduced to stabilize the foreign exchange (FX) market and strengthen the naira.
One of the recent interventions by the CBN was its directive to deposit money banks (DMBs) to transfer all excess foreign currency notes to CBN branches in Lagos or Abuja. The move aims to boost liquidity in the FX market and help converge the rates between the official and parallel markets.
The CBN noted, “This approval is a response to the increasing demand by DMBs to deposit their forex cash with CBN for onward credit to their offshore accounts with correspondent banks.”
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, expressed cautious optimism on June 25, stating the bank is “relatively pleased” with the progress made in stabilizing the naira. Despite this positive development, the naira weakened at the close of Wednesday’s trading, with the currency trading at ₦1,561 per dollar in the official market.
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