Nigeria’s external reserves drop to $47.303bn, a three-month low

Latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have dropped to $47.303 billion, a three-month low.

The reserves which were $47.697 billion on July 11, dropped by $394 million in 13 days, the CBN data revealed.

The data revealed that the reserves rose from $47.333 billion in April 24 to $47.846 billion on May 11.

The reserves which were $47.605 billion on May 31 rose to $47.789 billion on June 29, dropped by $102 million to $47.697 billion on July 11.

It would be recalled that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday expressed optimism that the external reserves would see further accretion.

In the communiqué No 119 of the MPC meeting of July 23 and 24, 2018, which was released on Tuesday by the CBN, the MPC predicted further increases in the level of external reserves in the near term, citing the favourable crude oil prices.

The MPC advised the CBN to sustain its current efforts to maintain investor confidence and ensure accretion to external reserves.

It also called on the Federal Government to continue to build fiscal buffers against possible oil price shocks in the future, noting that the rise in the monthly distribution of revenues at the Federation Account Allocation Committee portended danger of the absence of reserve buffers to absorb shocks in the future.