Foreign reserves gained $1.52bn in four weeks
The nation’s foreign reserves rose by $1.518bn from $41.523bn on November 22 to $43.041bn as of December 17, the latest figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria revealed.
Records revealed that the reserves, which had suffered significant declines in past months, had been maintaining a steady rise of recent.
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves fell from $45.838bn at the end of August to $41.533bn on November 21.
Figures from the CBN had earlier revealed that the reserves fell by $990.98m from $47.11bn in July to $46.128bn on August 23, 2018.
But of recent, records from the apex bank showed that the external reserves were gradually moving on a recovery path.
The Governor of the CBN, Godwin 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.