Nigeria’s net foreign exchange inflows surged by 70.5% year-on-year (YoY) to $42.06 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up from $24.66 billion during the same period in 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Total forex inflow into the economy grew by 41% YoY to $70.62 billion, while outflows increased by 12.3% to $28.55 billion. Autonomous sources contributed significantly to the inflow, with a marginal growth of $31.15 billion. However, outflows through autonomous sources spiked by 215%, reaching $6.52 billion.
Net inflows through the CBN recorded a dramatic rise of 250% YoY to $6.41 billion in 2024, compared to $1.83 billion in 2023. The inflows through the CBN increased by 50% to $28.46 billion, while outflows declined by 10% to $22.01 billion, bolstering the net position. Despite the overall growth, the CBN’s Q3 report highlighted a quarter-on-quarter dip in net forex inflows, which fell by 2.9% to $14.46 billion in Q3’24 from $14.89 billion in Q2’24.
This decline was attributed to a modest rise in forex inflows by 3.01% to $22.89 billion in Q3 and a sharper 15.18% increase in outflows to $8.43 billion. The broader economic trends in forex are reflective of Nigeria’s ongoing financial reforms, with implications for inflation, banking sector recapitalization, and foreign trade dynamics, which saw notable improvements in Q3’24.