In August 2023, Nigeria’s external reserves saw a slight increase of $1.87 million, attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market. The month began with reserves at $33.95 billion and ended at the same figure, reflecting a marginal 0.005 percent rise.
This uptick can be attributed to several factors, including inflows from the diaspora and a steady climb in global oil prices. The announcement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC) $3 billion ’emergency loan’ from Afrexim Bank likely contributed to bolstering the external reserves in August.
In August alone, the CBN reported that the export crude oil price stood at $91.80 per barrel, marking a 4.34 percent increase from the previous month. This is the highest export crude oil price since November 17, 2022, when it reached $93.41 per barrel.
However, despite this slight improvement, the external reserves have depleted by $3.13 billion over the first eight months of 2023 due to CBN interventions in the foreign exchange market. The year began with reserves at $37.082 billion and ended August at $33.954 billion.
As of August 31, 2023, the Naira at the Investors & Exporters (I & E) Foreign Exchange market closed at N757.023 against the dollar, compared to N757.52 in the previous month. Despite this, the local currency gained 0.07 percent against the dollar at the I & E FX window.