Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the country’s gross external reserves rose to $52.52 billion as of July 17, 2026, up from $50.47 billion at the end of May.
Speaking on Tuesday while briefing journalists after the
monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, Cardoso attributed the
increase to higher inflows from crude oil-related taxes and third-party
receipts.
“Gross external reserves rose to US$52.52 billion as of July
17, 2026, from US$50.47 billion as at end-May 2026, mainly as a result of
receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party inflows,” Cardoso said.
The CBN governor said the reserve level is sufficient to
finance about 11 months of imports of goods and services.
“This is sufficient to finance approximately 11 months of
imports of goods and services, surpassing the international benchmark of three
months’ cover,” he said.
“The improvement in the reserve position underscores the
resilience of the external sector and provides a stronger buffer against
external shocks.”
However, checks on the CBN website showed that the reserves
have steadily increased since the beginning of the month, rising to $52.02
billion as of July 20, contrary to Cardoso’s claim.
On July 17, the foreign reserves stood at $51.94 billion.
On July 15, CBN issued operational guidelines for bureau de
change (BDC) operators purchasing foreign exchange (FX) from authorised dealer
banks, introducing stricter compliance requirements and an electronic
transaction portal.
The apex bank said the framework takes immediate effect.
CBN said the guidelines provide the operational modalities
for the implementation of its February 10, 2026, circular, which granted BDCs
access to the official FX market through authorised dealer banks.
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