The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said Nigeria’s forex reserves have risen to $34 billion.
The increase in the gross foreign reserve has been attributed to elevated crude oil prices, an increase in oil production, and reforms from the apex bank.
CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, made this known while responding to questions from journalists after delivering the communique at the end of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja.
He stated, “Gross external reserve stood at $34.51 billion on February 20th, 2024 compared with $32.23 billion at the end of January 2024,” he said.
He said there will be an aggressive regulatory environment in the coming months as the bank moves to stabilise the forex market and execute its reforms.
The rise in the nation’s foreign reserve defies recent projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the it could drop to $24 billion this year, before peaking at $38 billion.
The external reserve had dropped to its lowest in six years at $32.87 billion, as at December 2023.