Foreign Reserves Drop by $288m in 11 Days

Foreign Reserves Drop by $288m in 11 Days

The nation’s foreign reserves fell by $288m in eleven days. Latest data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday showed the decline.

The reserves stood at $28.782bn on Monday, January 11, 2016. This is down from $28.895bn on January 8 and $28.931bn on January 7, according to the CBN data.

On December 31, 2015, the reserves closed at $29.070bn, reflecting a decline of 15.79 per cent year-on-year from $34.52bn a year ago.

The CBN had on Monday said it would no longer provide foreign exchange to Bureau De Change operators, adding that with the continued depletion of the foreign reserves, such funding was no longer sustainable.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said between July 2014 and January this year, the country’s external reserves had suffered a great pressure from speculative attacks, round-tripping and front-loading activities by actors in the foreign exchange market.

These, he noted, had led to a decline in the reserves from $37.3bn in June 2014 to $28bn currently.

There had been several calls for flexibility in the foreign exchange policies of the CBN as businesses continue to take a toll from the restrictive policies of the central bank.