Published October 16, 2024.
By Chinwendu Eugene
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, said yesterday that the country’s foreign reserves rose by 12.74 per cent to $39.12 billion as at October 11.
He also said though inflation had shown “gradual moderation,” indicating that the monetary policy measures were “becoming effective,” it remained a concern.
Cardoso, who disclosed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives committee on banking regulation, yesterday, in Abuja, said the country’s reserves stood at $34.70 billion at the end of June.
He said the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have “grown significantly” with remittance flows currently representing 9.4 percent of total external reserves.
“The reserves rose by 12.74 per cent to $39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024, from $34.70 billion at the end of June 2024,” he said.
The CBN governor said the foreign reserves were driven largely by foreign capital inflows, receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party.
He said: “In Q2 2024, we maintained a current account surplus and saw remarkable improvements in our trade balance. The current external reserves position can finance over 12 months of import of goods and services or 15 months of goods only.
“This is substantially higher than the prescribed international benchmark of 30 months, reflecting a robust buffer against external shocks.
