Some cheery news as Nigeria’s external reserves rose to $50.11 billion on June 5, the highest level in 17 years.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed the reserves had passed the $50 billion mark March 10, hitting $50.01 billion.
But the new figure is the highest recorded since January 26, 2009, when external reserves stood at $50.58 billion..
The current figure also represents a sharp increase from the $38.28 billion recorded on June 5, 2025, indicating a year-on-year rise of about 30.9 percent.
Within one year, Nigeria added approximately $11.84 billion to its reserve stock, strengthening the country’s external buffers amid ongoing efforts to stabilise the foreign exchange market and improve macroeconomic fundamentals.
The reserve build-up has accelerated over the past year.
From $38.28 billion on June 5, 2025, reserves rose steadily through the second half of the year, closing July at $39.36 billion before increasing to $41.31 billion in August and $42.35 billion in September.
The upward narrative continued in the final quarter of 2025, with reserves reaching $43.20 billion in October, $44.67 billion in November and $45.50 billion by December 31, 2025.
The momentum extended into 2026.
Reserves climbed to $46.28 billion at the end of January and surged to $49.69 billion by February 27.
Although the reserves declined slightly to $49.24 billion at the end of March and $48.36 billion by the end of April.
