CBN: Nigeria’s external reserves dropped by $640m in May

The country’s external reserves lost $640m in May, falling to $34.24bn on May 28 from $34.88bn as of April 28.

Figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday revealed that the reserves had been fluctuating in recent weeks.

Speaking on the decline at the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said, “This reflects sales to the foreign exchange market and third-party payments.”

In March, the reserves lost $178m after dropping from $34.99bn as of March 1 to $34.82bn as of the end of March 31.

In February, the reserves dropped by $1.1bn, falling from $36.19bn as of February 1 to $35.09bn on February 26.

The CBN, in its January economic report, said, “As a consequence of the lower foreign exchange receipts, the official external reserves declined.

“External reserves stood at $35.44bn at end-January 2021, a decrease of 2.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent from $36.46bn in December 2020 and $36.73bn in January 2020.”