Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves increased week-on-week by 2.51 per cent to USD26.88 billion, according to latest update from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, last weekend.
The latest uptick in the reserves came against the backdrop of a week-on-week decline in global crude oil price, a factor that had stoked the upswing in reserves in the past one month.
Brent crude oil price and OPEC’s reference basket price moderated lower week-on-week by 1.39 per cent and 1.36 per cent to USD56. 11 per barrel and USD52.30 a barrel, respectively, at the weekend.
But activities at the interbank foreign exchange market remained minimal even as more pressures came on the parallel market segment of the foreign exchange market, sending Naira value, at N497/ USD1, closer to the dreaded N500 mark.
