Oil, Gas, Remittances Lift Nigeria’s Q2 Current Account Surplus To $7.54bn

Oil, gas and remittances have lifted Nigeria’s current account surplus by 68 per cent to $7.54 billion in the second quarter, supported by stronger exports of crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products, as well as increased foreign portfolio investment.

Nigeria’s balance of payments data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, showed that Nigeria’s external position strengthened during the quarter, with foreign exchange reserves rising above $51 billion, while the overall balance of payments recorded a $3.51 billion surplus.

The goods trade surplus also widened to $10.12 billion at the end of June, compared with $5.96 billion in the previous quarter, as total exports increased from $15.56 billion to $20.08 billion.

Crude oil exports rose by 15.8 per cent to $9.39 billion, while gas exports increased by 40.2 per cent to $3.63 billion, while exports of refined petroleum products recorded a sharper 66.2 per cent increase to $3.94 billion.

The improvement was also supported by stronger capital inflows. Portfolio investment inflows rose to $7.09 billion from $6.03 billion, while foreign direct investment increased to $1.15 billion from $1.03 billion.

External reserves climbed to $51.39 billion in the second quarter, up from $48.35 billion at the end of March.

Also, workers’ remittances also increased during the period, rising to $5.82 billion from $5.30 billion in the previous quarter.

The CBN stated: “Total exports increased to $20.08 billion from $15.56 billion in the preceding quarter, driven by higher receipts across crude oil, natural gas, refined petroleum products and non-oil exports.

“Exports of refined petroleum products recorded the strongest growth, rising by 66.24 per cent to $3.94 billion, while non-oil exports increased by 25.30 per cent to $3.12 billion.

“The goods account also benefited from a sharp decline in crude oil imports, which fell to $580 million in Q2 2026 from $1.39 billion in Q1,” it added.