Gross Official Reserves Increased By US$360m in April 2019 to US$44.79bn
Share
Gross official reserves increased by US$360m in April to US$44.79bn. This follows a brief surge the previous month, driven by very strong inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) on the fixed income side just after the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The surge allowed the CBN to accumulate fx at the investors’ and exporters’ window (NAFEX). It has since been replaced by a modest upward trend on the back of oil prices above US$70/b (and stable production of around 1.80mbpd excluding condensates).
We also show the reserves position for South Africa and Egypt in our chart but caution that we are not comparing like for like.
Some definitions are therefore required. The Nigerian data are gross, cover just fx and exclude swap contracts.
The South African series is the most detailed. Gross reserves are the conventional total of SDR holdings at the IMF, gold holdings and fx reserves including foreign currency deposits at the SARB. This figure is then adjusted to deduct those deposits and allow for changes in the forward position, resulting in the international liquidity position in the chart.
