Nigeria’s external reserves have received a significant boost of $1 billion from oil sales and exports, according to recent reports.
The increase resulted in a 0.11% appreciation in Naira value on Wednesday as the Naira to United States Dollar exchange rate moderated from N461.75 it closed on Tuesday to N451.24 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window.
However, despite the positive news, currency dealers maintained bids between N459.50 (low) and N462.13 (high) per dollar. At the parallel market, also known as the black market, the local currency traded at N744 per dollar on Wednesday.
Analysts at the FSDH research have predicted that the Nigerian Naira will continue to face pressure from high import costs and demand for foreign currency by businesses and individuals. However, they expect the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to continue intervening in the FX market to contain the pace of depreciation.
Nigeria’s external reserves grew by $1.063 billion within 24 hours on March 28, 2023 to $36.668 billion in a move suspected to be inflow from the proceed of crude oil and exports.
The decline in external reserves from US$37.1 billion in January 2023 to US$36.1 billion on March 15, 2023, has been attributed to interventions in the FX markets and limited foreign exchange inflows. However, rising oil production in recent months raises the prospect of reserves accretion in the second half of 2023, according to analysts.
The scarcity of foreign currency in the official market coupled with a high exchange rate of N745/US$ in the parallel market continues to drive high input costs and imported inflation.
It remains to be seen how the country will navigate these challenges in the coming months.
