Foreign reserves gained $1.85bn in one month – CBN

The nation’s foreign reserves rose by $1.85bn to $44.728bn as of April 12 from $42.87bn in March 12, according to latest statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The value, rose from a value of $43.041bn in December 17, 2018 to $43.047bn as of January 9, 2019.

Records revealed that the reserves, which suffered declines in past months, had been maintaining a steady rise of recent.

While speaking on efforts to conserve the country’s foreign exchange, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele said, “We introduced a demand management approach in order to conserve our reserves. In this regard, we analysed our import bill, and encouraged manufacturers to consider local options in sourcing their raw materials, by restricting access to foreign exchange on 41 items, which we later increased to 43 items.”

Emefiele, had earlier said that because crude oil was a major source of the country’s foreign exchange, the nation’s economy became sensitive to fluctuations in the price of crude oil.

“Significant declines in the price of crude oil not only reduced Nigeria’s export earnings, but the nation was also subjected to higher inflation and lower growth, given our dependence on imported goods,” he said.

With the discovery of shale oil, along with policy measures being put in place by advanced countries, such as the United States and China, towards reducing car emissions and supporting alternative sources of energy such as battery powered cars, he said it had become imperative to build up buffers that would insulate the nation’s economy from volatility in the crude oil market.

He said, “At the height of drop in crude oil prices, our forex Reserves had declined to $23.7bn in October 2016. With the implementation of the tools, the stock of our external reserves has recovered steadily and has risen to $44.8bn as at March 19, 2019.”