The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, announced on Tuesday that the country’s foreign reserves increased by 12.74% to $39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024.
Cardoso made this statement while addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Banking Regulation. He noted that Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood at $34.70 billion at the end of June 2024, highlighting significant growth in just a few months.
“The reserves rose by 12.74% to $39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024, from $34.70 billion at the end of June,” Cardoso explained.
He attributed the growth in reserves to increased remittance flows, which now account for 9.4% of total external reserves. Additionally, he pointed out that Nigeria maintained a current account surplus in Q2 2024 and saw notable improvements in the trade balance.
“The current reserves position can finance over 12 months of imports for goods and services, or 15 months for goods alone,” Cardoso said, adding that this exceeds international benchmarks, providing a strong buffer against external economic shocks.
Regarding the foreign exchange market, Cardoso discussed various reforms the CBN implemented, including a unification strategy that merged multiple exchange rate windows into a single model. This approach, based on a “willing buyer, willing seller” framework, aimed to improve liquidity, promote transparency, and reduce market distortions. Additionally, new operational guidelines were introduced, including the removal of the cap on international money transfer operators’ (IMTOs) exchange rates.