Buhari economic team member, Rewane, predicts drop in Nigeria’s external reserves to $39bn

The chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, on Thursday predicted that Nigeria’s external reserves would drop to $39 billion before the end of this year.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves currently stand at $40.49 billion.

Rewane, who is a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic think tank, stated this during the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) January breakfast meeting held in Lagos.

Ripples Nigeria reported that Nigeria’s external reserves decreased from $40.52 billion to $40.49 billion on January 6 following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) withdrawal of $21.8million to meet forex demands by manufacturers, importers, travellers, and students studying abroad.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s external reserves drop by $21.8m in six days as CBN moves to meet forex demands

Rewane expected the foreign reserves to drop by 3.6 percent as the financial authorities continued their intervention in the Investors’ and Exporters’ Window.

He said Nigerians would become richer this year despite predicting an average of 13.3 percent inflation rate for 2022, below the 15.40 percent recorded in November last year.

The economist said: “We can expect to see sustained cost-push factors, including a planned fuel subsidy removal, new electricity tariffs, and additional taxes; alongside legacy issues, such as increased debt service burden and exchange rate conversion. Inflation will remain structurally high at an average of 13.3%, with an increase in Q1 and Q2.”

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