Nigeria foreign reserves drops by $57m in December to $32.89bn

Nigeria’s external reserves recorded a drop by 0.17 per cent or $57.18 million in December 2023 to $32.912 billion from $32.96 billion in November 2023, due to the lingering foreign exchange instability in the country. According to figures released on Wednesday  by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $ 32,912,429,900 as at December 29, 2023. The liquid portion was $ 32,185,371,731 while $ 727,058,169 was not available for use .

At the beginning of the last month of the year 2023, the external reserves figure was close to $33 billion at ($32,969,611,433) with $32,212,850,183 available for use while 756,761,250 was blocked. The nation’s foreign reserves stood at $33,004,054,737 as of November 30, 2023.

External reserves are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence the foreign exchange rate of its currency, and maintain confidence in financial markets.