Nigeria’s external reserves declined by about $731 million in the first three weeks of April 2026, latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reflected.
Specifically, the apex bank reported that at the end of the first three weeks of this month, the reserves fell from $49.18 billion on April 1 to $48.45 billion as of April 23, representing an average weekly decline of about $233 million.
The latest dip in the reserves reflected a broader trend of reserve drawdown as the monetary authorities continued to rev up regulatory measures to balance exchange rate stability, improve liquidity management and external debt commitments of the government.
An analysis of the latest data indicated the sharpest decline occurred in the early part of the month, before moderating in the latter half of April. It showed that the reserves dropped from $49.18 billion to $48.81 billion between April 1 and April 10.
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However, the apex bank reported that between April 13 and April 17, the reserves dipped further from $48.72 billion to $48.62 billion, suggesting a slower pace of decline and that from April 20 to April 23, reserves marginally dropped from $48.54 billion to $48.45 billion, showing relative moderation in outflows.
The April depreciation in the foreign reserves was not unconnected with the similar pressure recorded in March, heightening experts concerns over sustained external liquidity management and the impact of the lingering Middle East tensions on Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) earnings on crude oil exports.
According to the CBN, the nation’s foreign reserves marginally declined from above $50.8 billion on March 12 to $49.61 billion by March 23.
The just released data from the apex bank showed that despite the recent decline, the foreign reserves level remained significantly higher than the level of around $37.83 billion it stood in the corresponding period of 2025.
It would be recalled that the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, recently said that the recent decline in the nation’s external should be worried about given the potential to boost the reserves in the months ahead based on current reforms by the government.
Earlier, the CBN management had projected that reserves could reach $51 billion by the end of this year as part of its broader macroeconomic stabilization strategies and increasing investor confidence in the nation’s economy.
The $51 billion projection was part of its medium-term strategy to strengthen the nation’s balance-of-payments resilience.
