Tony Chukwunyem 
Nigeria’s external reserves, which have maintained an upward trend since February 15 2022, rising to $39.873 billion on March 3, dropped slightly to $39.870billion and $39.800billion on March 4 and March 7 respectively, latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows. New Telegraph had reported that the recent surge in oil prices led to Nigeria’s external reserves gaining $93.57million in two weeks, rising from $39.78billion on February 15, 2022 to $39.87billion on March 2, 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 had pushed crude oil prices to their highest levels since 2014. As of March 7, for instance, the CBN recorded $133.63 as crude oil price on its website. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, New Telegraph had reported that despite higher oil prices, the country’s
external reserves were heading south, dropping by $638.15million between January 10, 2022 and February 10, 2022, according to CBN data. The apex bank’s data shows that the reserves, which stood at $40.51billion as of January 10, fell to $39.87billion as of February 10. The external reserves had increased from $39.82billion on October 15, 2021, to a high of $41.83billion on October 29, on the back of Eurobond inflow and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). CBN data shows that the reserves rose by $5.12billion last year from $35.37billion at the end of 2020.
At the first meeting of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this year, held in January, the apex bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said: “Members also noted the continued improvement in the external reserves despite ongoing foreign exchange market pressures. The reserves stood at $40.2billion as at December 2021.” He noted that the country’s productivity level must increase before it can have a significant impact on the external reserves. Last year, Emefiele projected that the foreign reserves would surpass $42 billion threshold by the middle of this year. He spoke at the France- Nigeria Security and Economic Summit, in Paris, France. According to him, “Nigeria’s external reserves are expected to surpass $42 billion by mid-2022.
This is due to the sustained increase in crude oil price, the impact of Eurobond Issuance, and the stable exchange rate condition.” The reserves, which stood at $34.80 billion in the first quarter of 2021, declined to $33.3 billion in the second quarter, before rising to $36.7 billion in the third quarter. It was estimated to hit about $41.82 at the end of the fourth quarter.
