March 13 (Lagos) - Nigeria foreign reserves have risen to its highest levels in 4 years, reaching $46 billion on Friday, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed.
Despite increased FX interventions in the first 3 months of 2018, with year-to-date intervention of ca $2.57 billion, the growth in reserve level was attributed to the rise in FX inflows through the Investors and Exporter FX (I&E FX) window, with turnover of $35.16 billion since inception last April and the proceeds of the $2.5 billion Euro-bond issuance in February 2018.
With global oil prices still above the nation's budget benchmark of $45 pb and production at an average of 1.786 million barrels per day in 2018, we anticipate a continuous rise in reserve levels towards the $50 billion mark, improved import cover of ca 10 months and boost confidence of the CBN to maintain the nation's current FX rate stability and liquidity.
reporting for easykobo.com on Tuesday, March 13 2018 from Lagos, Nigeria