new naira notes

A foreign investor at TLG Capitals, Isaac Marshall, has attributed the naira gain to the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear the FX backlog.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) reserves have fallen to a six-year low, Marshall said in a statement on his LinkedIn account on Thursday.

He stated that this decline should be viewed as a positive step for the Nigerian currency.

Marshall noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally cleared the FX backlog of requests for USD conversions that had plagued the market for years.

This backlog, he argues, has finally ended and currency is nearly synchronised across the parallel and official markets.

Marshall said; The Central Bank is defending the naira simply by honouring the backlog of USD conversions that market participants have been hoping to complete for years.

The result is that enormous queue of USD/NGN conversions at the Central Bank has finally ended and currency is nearly synchronized across the parallel and official markets.

Using reserves to honour legal/proper transactions is the raison d’être of a central bank’s FX reserve.

Marshall’s statement follows ongoing efforts by Nigerian authorities to manage the country’s foreign exchange.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) reserves have plummeted by around $2.16 billion in 29 days, amidst CBN efforts to stabilise the naira.

Current figures from the CBN, as of April 15, 2024, reveal that the FX reserves are now positioned at $32.29 billion, a stark decline from $34.45 billion recorded on March 18, 2024.

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest level since September 25, 2017, when they were at $32.28 billion.

CBN attributed the rise to¯increased remittance payments from Nigerians abroad and heightened interest from foreign investors in local assets, including government debt securities.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Why are you flagging this comment?

I disagree with this user

Targeted harassment - posted harassing comments or discussions targeting me, or encouraged others to do so

Spam - posted spam comments or discussions

Inappropriate profile - profile contains inappropriate images or text

Threatening content - posted directly threatening content

Private information - posted someone else''s personally identifiable information

Before flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities. Your username will be shown to the moderator, so you should only flag this comment for one of the reasons listed above.

We will review and take appropriate action.

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardians leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.

Follow Us