Nigeria’s foreign reserves shed $1.19bn between January 25 and February 22, 2021. This was despite the oil price rally.
The reserves rose to $36.5 billion on January 25th and fell to $35.3 billion on February 22nd when it was last updated. This means that the reserves recorded a 3.27 per cent fall within the period under review.
Before recording a gradual slump, the reserves had peaked at $36.5 billion from $35.4 billion at the start of the new year.
The rise followed an upward trend in the reserve figures, a pattern that began mid-December 2020, buoyed by a steady rise in oil prices in the international market.
It was unclear why the reserves fell at a time of rising crude oil prices, although similar declines in the past were attributed to the interventions by the apex bank to stabilise the exchange rate.