Foreign Reserves Gain $456.77m In Four Days, Hit $50.037bn

Nigeria’s gross external reserves rose by about $456.77 million over the first four days in June to $50.037 billion as of June 4, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown.

The reserves increased from $49.58 billion at the start of the four‑day period to $50.037 billion on June 4. The gain included a notable $155 million one‑day rise to $49.96 billion on June 3, up from $49.80 billion the previous day.

Despite the improvement in the foreign Reserves the naira registered a slight softening at the close of trading on Friday, ending the day at N1,365/$ in the official foreign exchange market after a week of relative calm.

That was a slight depreciation from N1,359.75/$ recorded on Thursday.

Over the five trading sessions the currency moved within a narrow band: it opened at N1,366/$ on June 1, tightened to N1,360.22/$ on June 2, held at roughly N1,360/$ on June 3, strengthened marginally to N1,359.75/$ on June 4 before easing to N1,365/$ on Friday.

These levels remain firmer than those observed the previous week, when the naira traded around N1,372–N1,377/$.

Despite the marginal decline, the naira maintained a stronger position compared to previous weeks, supported by rising external reserves and ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market.

Analysts attributed the accretion  external reserves accretion to several factors, including

Improved export receipts, higher remittance flows and oil export inflows, which added to central bank dollar holdings.

Other factors included tactical interventions by the CBN in the official market, including sales and purchases timed to smooth volatility while rebuilding buffers, as well as recent policy reforms aimed at liberalising and deepening the foreign exchange market, which have encouraged greater liquidity and attracted some investor interest.