The country’s reserves stood at $43.08 billion on the first of January and increased to $44.42 billion at the end of Q1 in 2019.
Nigeria's foreign reserves gained $2 billion to peak above $45 billion in the half of 2019
Nigeria's foreign reserves increased by $2 billion, reaching $45.07 billion in the first half of 2019, analysis of the CBN data by Business Insider SSA showed.
Although Nigeria’s foreign reserves have experienced an uptick in recent weeks, it is yet to reach the highest record of $47.80 billion posted on May 7, 2018, beating South Africa and other African economies.
On July 17, 2019, CBN record also showed that the foreign reserves have extended gains to $45.09 billion. Foreign reserves help nations intervene in the exchange markets by protecting the country’s assets.
Presenting CBN's 5-year Policy Thrust, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the apex bank, noted that “the country's external reserves have risen from $23 billion in October 2016 to over $45 billion by June 2019.”
“...With an improved inflow of foreign exchange, the exchange rate has remained stable at N360/$1 for the past 27 months.”
The plan also includes access to credit for micro, small and midsize enterprises (MSMEs), consumer lending, recapitalisation, financial stability, and others.
CBN MPC meets in Abuja next week
Next week, the monetary policy committee of the CBN will meet in Abuja to set key lending rates.
Bankole Odusanya, Head Of Fixed Income Securities Trading at UBA, expressed optimism that MPC will drop rates moderately.
Odusanya told Channels Television on Friday that it is essential to allow deposit money banks lend to the real sector.
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