External Reserves Drop First Week Of January

According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on daily reserve movements, Nigeria’s external reserves dipped $24.3 million in the first week of 2022 to close at $40.49 billion as of 7 January 2021.

This represents a 0.06% decline when compared to $40.42 billion recorded as of the start of the week.

The nation’s foreign reserves had gained $5.99 billion in October, following a $2.76 million gain recorded in September 2021. This is as a result of the $4 billion Eurobond secured by the FG and the $3.35 billion IMF Special Drawing Rights facility. 

However, the reserve started a downward movement in November after it crossed the $41 billion mark.

Breakdown Analysis

Nigeria’s external reserve lost $611.01 million in November, followed by a $666.17 million decline in December. Meanwhile, the annual gain for 2021 was $5.15 billion. 

CBN data shows that a total of $8.97 billion was supplied by the bank to the I&E window, SME, and Invisibles. 

The Investors and Exporters Window (I&E) is the official market for foreign exchange sales in the country after the CBN halted the sale of forex to bureau de change (BDC) operators in mid-2021. $2.77 billion had been sold to BDC operators between January and June 2021.