The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, announced on Tuesday that the country’s foreign reserves rose by 12.74%, reaching $39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024.
This marks a significant improvement from the $34.70 billion recorded at the end of June 2024.Cardoso made this disclosure during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Banking Regulation.
He emphasized that the current reserve level is strong enough to cover more than 12 months of imports for goods and services, or 15 months of goods alone, which exceeds the international benchmark of three months.
“This provides a robust buffer against external economic shocks,” Cardoso stated.The CBN governor attributed the reserve growth in part to increased remittance flows, which now make up 9.4% of the total external reserves.
“The reserves have grown significantly, supported by increased remittance inflows,” he added.
Cardoso also highlighted recent reforms in the foreign exchange market, pointing out the CBN’s adoption of a unification strategy that merged various exchange rate windows into a single model based on a “willing buyer, willing seller” approach.
This reform aims to improve foreign exchange liquidity, enhance market transparency, and reduce distortions in FX allocations.
As part of this consolidation, the CBN introduced new operational guidelines, including the removal of the cap on international money transfer operators (IMTOs), further boosting efficiency in the foreign exchange market.
