Nigeria’s external reserves dropped by $610m in November, according to figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday.
The reserves slumped from $41.83bn as of October 29 to N$41.22bn on November 29.
The CBN also noted that at the current level, the external reserves take care of the country’s nine-month import demand.
According to figures obtained from the CBN, the reserves which had recorded a $5bn gain in October, slumped in November.
The reserves had risen from $36.78bn on September 30 to $41.83bn as of October 29.
The Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, said, at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s dinner in Lagos, said, “Supported by our demand management policy, in addition to support from the successful issuance of the $4bn Eurobond and the IMF SDR, our external reserves today stands at over $41.4bn, which is enough to support nine months of imports.
“This is not just a morale booster for both foreign direct and portfolio investors willing to invest in the economy, but it provides significant fire power to support our domestic industries that need to import critical machines and equipment for domestic production and exports.”
He said due to the decline in foreign exchange supply originating from low revenue from the sale of crude oil, the naira weakened by 7.7 per cent from N380/$ to 410/$ at the I & E window.
“A combination of these factors led to a marked drop in our foreign reserves from nearly $36.7bn at the beginning of the crises in March said to a low of $32.9bn in June 2021,” he said.
He stated that the volume of activities at the I&E window dropped from nearly $250m- $300m daily to below $40m in the first quarter of 2021.
