Nigeria Realises US$10.22b Forex Inflow in May

• Nigeria Realises US$10.22b Forex Inflow in May

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the federation recorded a total foreign exchange inflow of US$10.22 billion in May.

This was 3.2 percent high than the number achieved in April but 4 percent lower than the level achieved in the same period of 2018.

In the CBN economic report released for May 2019, the apex bank said a total of US$3.97 billion outflows were recorded in the same month, bringing the nation net inflow to US$6.26 billion in the month.

Again, this was higher than the US$5.04 billion filed in April 2019 and US$5.51 billion recorded in May 2018.

The central bank attributed the increase to the 4.3 percent and 2.6 percent surge in inflows through the Bank and Autonomous sources, respectively.

Inflow through autonomous sources surged by 2.6 percent to US$6.21 billion in May 2019. While outflow from autonomous sources declined by 37.8 percent month-on-month to US$0.37 billion.

The CBN sold US$2.04 billion to authorised forex dealers in May as part of its intervention programme to support the Naira. That was lower than the US$2.43 billion sold in April.

The rise in foreign exchange inflow is a positive sign and indicate a renewed interest in the economy, especially when compared to previous months when outflows were higher than inflows.

The apex bank has been able to build the foreign exchange reserves to over $44 billion as sustained oil production amid high oil prices has helped bolstered the reserves and support CBN forex intervention programme.

During the month under review, the average exchange rate of the Naira at the inter-bank, the BDC segment and the “investors” and “exporters” window were N306.95/US$, N359.69/US$ and N360.71/US$, respectively.