Nigeria’s foreign reserve has witnessed a steady increase from $36,944,921,325 on December 19 to $36,953,048,723 on December 22.
But the accumulation was below what the reserve received within the same period in November.
In November, the foreign reserve enjoyed fluctuating accretions around $37.1 billion till December 5 when it dropped to $36,998,943,788.
Figures gleaned from the Central Bank of Nigeria website showed that on December 19, $36,944,921,325 accrued into the foreign reserve; $36,945,587,514 on the 20th; $36,947,672,924 on the 21st and $36,953,048,723.
In November, the reserve stood at $37,193,436,291 on the 21st; $37,192,292,683 on the 22nd; $37,186,524,138 on the 23rd; $37,181,415,906 on the 24th and $37,172,503,981 on the 25th.
With the current state of Nigeria’s foreign reserve, the CBN can conveniently fund six to nine months of export credit depending on demand.
Accretions into the foreign reserve are mainly from increasing non-oil proceeds.
There are fears that the foreign reserve will suffer further decline after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
CBN governor Godwin Emefiele had said: “The official foreign exchange receipt from crude oil sales into our official reserves has dried up steadily from above $3 billion monthly in 2014 to an absolute zero dollars today.
“The bulk of the money in Nigeria’s foreign reserves comes from the export of gas and oil to other nations.
“But increasing instances of crude oil theft have hurt Nigeria’s ability to export enough crude oil. Consequently, its foreign exchange reserves are falling.”
Emefiele noted that due to the struggle of the naira as well as the increase in the demand for forex, there has been a huge decline in foreign reserves.
