Oscarline Onwuemenyi
11 August 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $31.22 billion, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, have shown.
According to the data obtained from the apex bank, the increase represents the first in about 2 years.
The nation’s reserves have been affected by the ripple effects of the economic challenges being faced by Africa’s largest economy, including low oil prices, crumbling naira value and high foreign exchange demands.
The last time the reserves peaked at such level was July 2015, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari took office.
The CBN data indicated appreciation in reserves in the midst of forex intervention put in place to the various exchange markets by the bank.
The CBN is believed to have injected a cumulative sum of $3.61 billion between February and April 2017.
The funds inject into the foreign exchange market is to ensure help maintain the value of the naira.
Since the injection of the funds, the naira has remained relatively stable, hovering at about N363 to dollar.
