By Emmanuella Opara | October 19th 2026
KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s oil sector utilised $2.148bn in foreign exchange between January and June 2026, down 18.7 per cent from $2.643bn a year earlier.
- Second-quarter utilisation rose 38.9 per cent from the first quarter to $1.249bn.
- June recorded the highest monthly utilisation in the six-month period at $559.79m, up 47.2 per cent from May.
MAIN STORY
Nigeria’s oil sector utilised $2.148bn in foreign exchange in the first half of 2026, representing an 18.7 per cent decline from the $2.643bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, according to Central Bank of Nigeria data.
An analysis of the CBN’s Quarterly Statistical Bulletin for the second quarter of 2026 showed that the sector’s foreign exchange utilisation fell by approximately $494.47m year-on-year.
Despite the overall decline, demand increased in the second quarter, with utilisation rising to $1.249bn between April and June from $899.29m in the first three months of the year. The increase represented a quarter-on-quarter rise of 38.9 per cent.
Monthly figures showed that June recorded the highest oil-sector FX utilisation during the period, at $559.79m. This was an increase of $179.38m, or 47.2 per cent, from the $380.41m recorded in May.
The June figure also exceeded the $492.12m utilised in June 2025 by $67.67m, representing a 13.8 per cent increase.
However, the rise in June was insufficient to offset the lower utilisation recorded during the preceding months, leaving the sector’s cumulative demand below the previous year’s level.
In January, the oil sector utilised $381.91m, compared with $457.83m in January 2025, representing a decline of 16.6 per cent.
February utilisation stood at $283.32m, marginally below the $283.54m recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year.
The sharpest year-on-year decline occurred in March, when utilisation fell to $234.06m from $517.55m, a reduction of $283.49m, or 54.8 per cent.
Demand remained below the previous year’s levels at the beginning of the second quarter. In April, the sector utilised $308.66m, down 27.1 per cent from $423.12m in April 2025.
May utilisation declined to $380.41m from $468.47m a year earlier, representing an 18.8 per cent reduction, before the trend reversed in June.
Quarterly comparisons showed that first-quarter utilisation fell by 28.6 per cent from $1.259bn in 2025 to $899.29m in 2026.
Second-quarter utilisation, however, was 9.7 per cent lower than the $1.384bn recorded between April and June 2025, despite the improvement from the first quarter of this year.
The figures indicate that oil-sector foreign exchange utilisation strengthened as 2026 progressed, although total demand for the first six months remained below the corresponding period of the previous year.
THE ISSUES
The figures show a decline in the oil sector’s cumulative foreign exchange utilisation despite a strong recovery in the second quarter. The sharp drop in March contributed to the first-half reduction, while June became the first month of 2026 in which utilisation exceeded the corresponding monthly figure for 2025.
WHAT’S NEXT
The CBN’s subsequent statistical releases will provide further data on whether the increase recorded in June continues into the second half of the year.
BOTTOM LINE
Nigeria’s oil sector utilised $2.148bn in foreign exchange in the first half of 2026, down 18.7 per cent year-on-year, even as demand rose sharply in the second quarter and reached its six-month peak in June.
