By Abiola Olawale
In a commendable move, the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria have experienced an upward trend, marking a marginal turnaround from the downward trend experienced in the last two months.
The foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria now stand at $33.58 billion as of June 19, 2024, going by data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This represents the highest marginal reserves Nigeria has recorded since March 28, 2024.
It would be recalled that data obtained from the apex bank had revealed that Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves experienced a decline of $1.8 billion between April 2024 and May 2024.
Data obtained from the apex bank as of May 29, 2024, indicated that Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $32.69 billion, a decrease from the $34.44 billion reported as of March 18.
However, the trends seem to have changed as the foreign exchange reserve has increased marginally.
This achievement represents a recovery since the end of March 2024 when it was as high as $33.83 billion before a period of decline set in.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, forex reserves have risen by 5% or $1.47 billion In the last two months.
This is also coming as the country recorded a string of financial commitments from the World Bank through new multilateral loans.
It would be recalled that Afrexim Bank, recently announced the disbursement of $925 million- another tranche of the $3.3 billion crude oil-backed loan agreement it entered into with the NNPC last year. The bank disclosed this in a statement on its website stating that the current disbursement brings the total payment for the facility to $3.175 billion.
The World Bank also recently approved $2.25 billion in loans to Nigeria to boost the country’s economic stability and support its vulnerable populations. This financial infusion is intended to provide immediate financial and technical support for Nigeria’s urgent economic stabilization efforts.
