Nigeria’s external reserves hit the $30bn mark on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, a level it last touched about 17 months ago on November 27, 2015 when it closed at $30.012bn, according to data made available on the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday.
In a statement following the recent released of the nation’s 2016 full-year GDP data,
At $30.014bn, Nigeria’s reserves level rose $1.315bn or 4.59% in one month from $28.641bn in the corresponding period of February 2017; and $3.721bn or 14.15% in two months.
Year-to-date, Nigeria’s external reserves climbed $4.17bn or 16.13% up from $25.843bn on December 30, 2016; and $2.133bn or 7.65% year-on-year.
A healthy external reserve is seen as a buffer that helps nations ward off external shocks.
The continued rise in reserves has been related directly to the pick-up and stability in the price of crude oil to between $53 and $56 per barrel, with output of about 1.90 million barrels per day since November, help by the Federal Government’s latest efforts to restore peace to the nation’s troubled Niger Delta region.
The Federal Government in its Economic Reconstruction and Growth Plan (ERGP) released on Tuesday, says part of the objective of the plan is increased accretion to external reserves, even as it estimates that from $23.26bn last year, Nigeria’s external reserve would close at $30.56bn this year, before rising to $43.53bn next year; $60.1bn in 2019; and then $79.63bn by 2020.
The plan published by the Ministry of National Planning focuses on achieving economic diversification, while being focused on key sectors capable of driving and enabling growth like agriculture, energy and the MSME industry. The plan also aims at restoring growth through “achieving macroeconomic stability and economic diversification. Macroeconomic stability will be achieved by undertaking fiscal stimulus, ensuring monetary stability and improving the external balance of trade.”
