‘Nigeria’s external reserves now $45bn,’ CBN gov lists other positive economic indicators

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday said the country’s external reserves have risen from $23 billion in October 2016 to over $45 billion in June, this year.

Emefiele disclosed this while reeling out the policy road map for his five-year second term in Abuja on Monday.

The CBN Governor added that the nation’s inflation rate dropped from 18.72% in 2017 to 11.40% in May, this year.

Read also: CBN Governor, Emefiele, announces plan to recapitalise Nigerian banks

“I am delighted to note that our external reserves have risen from 23 billion dollars in October 2016 to over 45 billion dollars by June.

“Inflation has also dropped from 18.72 per cent in January 2017 to 11.40 per cent in May.

“Our CBN purchasing manufacturers index has risen for 26 consecutive months since March 2017, indicating continuous growth in the manufacturing sector.

“As a result of measures implemented by the CBN which improved access to raw materials and finance for manufacturing firms GDP growth has risen for seven consecutive quarters following the recession.

“And, our exchange rate has appreciated from over N525/$1 in February 2017 at the Bureau De Change window to N360/$1.

“With improved inflow of foreign exchange, the exchange rate has remained stable around N360/$1 for the past 27 months,” he said.

He said the bank also created an Investors and Exporters Window which allowed exporters and investors to inflow and sell their foreign exchange at the prevailing market rate.

“In order to reduce our reliance on the importation of items which could be produced in Nigeria, we restricted access to foreign exchange on 43 items.

“We also deployed our intervention funds to support growth and productivity in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

“These measures helped to support the attainment of our monetary policy objectives such as a reduction in the inflation rate, stability in our exchange rate and improved accretion to our external reserves,” he noted.

By Babatunde Alao…

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