Nigeria’s external reserves grew to $34.51bn in February – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria says the country’s gross external reserves grew by $2.28 billion to $34.51 billion in February 2024.

Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of CBN, disclosed this on Tuesday in a communique during the 293rd Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

The apex bank boss explained that Nigeria’s external reserves grew to $34.51 billion as of February 20 from $32.23 billion at the end of January 2024.

According to Cardoso, the improvement in the country’s external reserves was driven by reforms in the foreign exchange market and an increase in oil production.

“Gross external reserves stood at US$34.51 billion on February 20, 2024, compared with US$32.23 billion at end-January 2024.

“The improvement was driven by reforms in the foreign exchange market and an increase in oil production

amongst others”, he said.

Recall that the CBN had raised the country’s monetary policy rate by 400 basis points to 22.75 per cent from 18.75 to tackle the country’s rising inflation.

The National Bureau of Statistics said Nigeria’s headline inflation in January 2024 increased to 29.90 per cent.