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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, says Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves has presently risen to 52.52 billion dollars.
Cardoso said this on Tuesday in Abuja, while presenting a communique issued at the end of the 306th meeting of the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
He had earlier announced the decision of the MPC to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.5 per cent.
The committee also retained the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points.
Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks was retained at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent
According to Cardoso, gross external reserves rose to 52.52 billion dollars as of July 17, from 50.47 billion dollars as at end-May.
He said that the rise was mainly as a result of receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party inflows.
“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 CBN governor said that headline inflation (year-on-year) eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June, from 15.93 per cent in May, ending the three consecutive months of uptick in price levels.
He said that the decline resulted from a decrease in the non-food component which offset the increase in food inflation.
“Food inflation rose to 17.52 per cent in June, from 16.96 per cent in May, reflecting supply constraints.
“However, core inflation moderated to 15.92 per cent in June, from 16.82 per cent in May, largely on the back of exchange rate stability.
“Similarly, the 12-month average inflation rate sustained its decline to 17.63 per cent in June, from 18.36 per cent in May,’ ‘ he said.
He said that it marked the sixth month of consecutive moderation and reflected a slower pace of price increases over the medium term.’
According to him, on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation declined to 1.66 per cent in June from 1.75 per cent in May, driven by a slowdown in core inflation.
He said that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 4.07 per cent in the preceding period.
“This is largely driven by the resilience of the non-oil sector, which grew by 3.94 per cent, supported by improvements in telecommunications, financial services, trade, transportation, and other services sub-sectors.
“Oil sector GDP growth rate declined to 2.57 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from 6.79 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, due to the maintenance of oil facilities and installations.
“However, recent data showed improvement in economic activities as composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 index points in June from 49.6 index points in May,” Cardoso said.
He said that output growth was projected to remain resilient into 2026, anchored on the recent improvement in crude oil production, expansionary PMI and the positive impact of timely policy reforms.
“Inflation is projected to moderate further in the medium term on the back of continued stability in the foreign exchange market.
“This will also be due to lagged effect of previous monetary policy tightening and improved food supply conditions as the harvest season approaches,” he said.
He, however, said that the key risk to the outlook remained the severe and prolonged escalation of the Middle East conflict.
“In the light of these considerations, the MPC reaffirmed its commitment to preserve price and financial system stability.
“The committee remains prepared to take appropriate policy measures guided by evolving macroeconomic conditions,” he said. (NAN)