Recent figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that the country’s external reserves dropped by $565m from $36.198 billion as of February 1, to $35.633 billion as of February 15.

The reserves which had gained in recent weeks started a downward trend on January 26 on which date it declined to $36.34bn.

The reserves, which commenced the year at $35.65bn rose to $36.52bn as of January 25.

At the last Monetary Policy Meeting in January, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said, “On the external reserves position, the committee noted the increase in the level of external reserves, which stood at $36.23bn as at 21st January, 2021 compared with $34.94bn at the end of November 2020.

“This reflected improvements in crude oil prices, partial global economic recovery amid optimism over the discovery and distributions of COVID-19 vaccines by most developed economies.”

However, the latest monthly economic report of the CBN stated that despite the increase in economic activities globally and positive news of a COVID-19 vaccine, the external reserves declined due to lower foreign exchange receipts and sustained intervention to stabilise the exchange rate.