Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, confirmed that the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed to 52.52 billion dollars. He shared this update in Abuja following the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). During this session, the committee decided to keep the Monetary Policy Rate steady at 26.5 percent.
Key regulatory rates remain unchanged as well. The Cash Reserve Requirement stands at 45 percent for commercial banks and 16 percent for merchant banks, while public sector deposits outside the Treasury Single Account are held at 75 percent. The Standing Facilities Corridor is maintained at +50/-450 basis points.
Cardoso noted that the rise in reserves from 50.47 billion dollars in May was driven by oil tax receipts and external inflows. This amount covers roughly 11 months of imports, well above the three-month international requirement. Additionally, headline inflation dropped slightly to 15.91 percent in June, marking the first decline after three months of increases. While food inflation rose to 17.52 percent, core inflation fell to 15.92 percent due to a more stable exchange rate.
The economy saw a 3.89 percent growth in the first quarter of 2026, bolstered by the non-oil sector, including telecommunications and financial services. Although oil sector growth slowed to 2.57 percent due to maintenance, overall economic sentiment improved as the Purchasing Managers Index reached 50.1. Looking ahead, the Central Bank expects inflation to continue moderating, provided the foreign exchange market remains stable and global tensions, specifically in the Middle East, do not escalate.
