The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that currency in circulation in the country dropped by N37.94 billion in February to N3.25 trillion, down from the N3.29 trillion recorded in the preceding month.
According to the apex bank’s latest Money and Credit Report, the drop represented a 1.2% decline on a month-on-month basis, while when compared to the currency in circulation totaling N2.78 trillion in the corresponding period of 2021, the February 2022 figures represented a 16.95% increase.
In recent times, Nigeria’s currency in circulation has recorded significant growth since the CBN started the sundry interventions to support government’s sustained drives aimed at repositioning the nation’s economy on sustainable growth path after the 2020 Covid-19-spurred recession.
Based on available data provided by the apex bank, the currency in circulation rose to its highest level in history in December 2021 but this trend has been reversed with the first two months of this year recording drops.
For instance, the currency circulating in the economy dropped by N37.13 billion and N37.84 billion in January and February respectively this year.
Despite the drop in currency in circulation during the month under review, available data on banks’ lending to the private sector showed that the value increased by N1.46 trillion from N35.45 trillion in January 2022 to N36.91 trillion last month.
A further analysis of the apex bank’s report reflected that currency outside the banks as of February stood at N2.73 trillion, which is 1.7% lower than the N2.78 trillion outside the vaults of the lenders in January, representing a decline of N47.53 billion.
The report showed that banks’ credit to government also increased to N14.92 trillion in February, from N14.28 trillion recorded in the preceding month, representing a 4.5% growth.
