Nigeria’s external reserves fell to $48.45 billion on April 23, down from $49.18 billion at the start of the month, marking an average weekly decline of roughly $233 million.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reports that the reserve account lost about $731 million over the first three weeks of April 2026. The drop follows an earlier upward trend and reflects a mix of lower oil revenue, foreign‑exchange interventions and external debt servicing. The sharpest fall occurred between April 1 and April 10, when reserves slipped to $48.81 billion, before the pace moderated in the second half of the month.
From April 13 to April 17, the reserve balance eased from $48.72 billion to $48.62 billion, and between April 20 and April 23 it declined marginally from $48.54 billion to $48.45 billion. The recent outflows succeed a period of pressure in March, when reserves slipped from $50.08 billion on March 12 to $49.61 billion by March 23.
Despite the current downturn, Nigeria’s reserves remain well above the $37.83 billion level recorded at the same point in 2025. Earlier in the year, inflows lifted reserves by $509 million in the first 22 days of January 2026. Historical fluctuations have been pronounced; for example, reserves fell by $1.1 billion within two weeks in October 2018.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has urged caution against over‑interpretation of the recent movement, maintaining that the decline does not threaten the country’s macro‑economic stability. The central bank’s medium‑term plan projects external reserves reaching $51 billion by the end of 2026, a target aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s balance‑of‑payments resilience and restoring investor confidence.
The latest data underline the challenges of managing external liquidity in an economy heavily dependent on oil earnings and vulnerable to global financial shocks. Continuous monitoring of reserve trends will be critical for policymakers as they seek to sustain the projected growth in foreign‑exchange assets and stabilize the nation’s external financial position.
