Foreign reserves down to $35.69bn in October 

The country’s foreign reserves fell to about $35.69 billion as of the end of October, according to figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN).

The apex bank disclosed that the reserves which was $35.72 billion as of the end of September lost $49.29 million in four weeks. According to the CBN, the reserves, which had continued to rise and fall in recent weeks stood at $35.67billion as of September 1 and rose to $35.81billion as of September 17.

The reserves rose by $65million from $35.59billion as of August 20 to $35.66billion as of August 27.

It had earlier lost $278.91m from $35.87billion on July 29 to $35.59billion on August 19 after which it returned to a growth path. The CBN had stated that external reserves were expected to lie between $29.9billion and $34.3billion by 2020 ending. It said, “Sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic, the viability of the external sector in 2020 is expected to deteriorate, given the present worsening current account balance and depletion of external reserves driven, largely, by decelerating export receipts, particularly oil.

Specifically, the degree of external reserves accumulation is expected to decelerate, as outflows are expected to outweigh inflows.

As a result, it said, external reserves were expected to lie between $29.9billion and $34.3billionbillion at end-December 2020 (predicated on current declining oil price between $20 and $40).