According to information received from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country’s external reserves declined by $1.5 billion in four months. The CBN’s most recent statistic on the movement of external reserves revealed that the figure, which was at $36.73 billion at the end of February 20, declined to $36.68 billion at the end of February 27.
It declined from $35.5 billion to $35.25 billion to $35.2 billion at the end of March, April, and May 19, respectively. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, stated during the March Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja that the marginal fall in the level of gross foreign reserves was “reflecting the downtrend in crude oil prices, as global uncertainties persist.”
“In his personal statement, a member of the MPC, Folashodun Shonubi, said the impact of the slowdown in the global crude oil market on the dwindling fortunes of the domestic oil sector had been further compounded by inherent inefficiencies in the structure of the sector in Nigeria.
“Consequently, the official exchange rate has continued to depreciate.”