Data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday has shown that the nation’s external reserves fell by $565m within two weeks.
The foreign reserves dropped from $36.198bn recorded on 1st of February to $35.633bn as of February 15, 2021.
The reserves which had increased to $36.52bn as of January 25 from the $35.65bn it was at the beginning of this year, began its downward trend on January 26 when it plunged to $36.34bn.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at the last Monetary Policy Meeting in January, said: “On the external reserves position, the committee noted the increase in the level of external reserves, which stood at $36.23bn as at 21st January, 2021 compared with $34.94bn at the end of November 2020.
“This reflected improvements in crude oil prices, partial global economic recovery amid optimism over the discovery and distributions of COVID-19 vaccines by most developed economies.”
The external reserves, despite the increase in economic activities globally and positive news of a COVID-19 vaccine, declined due to lower foreign exchange receipts and sustained intervention to stabilise the exchange rate, the apex bank noted in its latest monthly economic report.
A further breakdown revealed that Nigeria’s reserves per capita decreased to $169.59, compared with $172.60 in October 2020, while Egypt’s reserves per capita increased to $342.36 from $338.92 in October 2020.
Reserves per capita position for South Africa and Angola was $725.49 and $461.32, while their reserve positions were $43.03bn and $15.16bn, respectively, in October 2020.
