Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $41.00 billion on 19 August, reaching their highest level in 44 months, according to data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
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The current figure is the strongest since 3 December 2021 and reflects a steady build-up in recent weeks after months of gradual depletion linked to debt repayments.
The increase in August has been particularly sharp. Reserves climbed from $39.54 billion on 1 August to $41.00 billion by 19 August, a rise of about $1.46 billion, or 3.69 per cent, in less than three weeks. The gains have been consistent across trading days, with only marginal pauses.
The threshold of $40 billion was crossed on 7 August, after reserves closed July below $39.4 billion. They advanced to $40.5 billion by 12 August and exceeded $41 billion a week later. On average, reserves have grown by roughly $81 million daily this month, reflecting improved inflows relative to outflows.
The central bank said the rise strengthens its ability to stabilise the naira in the official market, manage liquidity and resist speculative pressure.
On a year-to-date basis, gains remain modest. Reserves opened 2025 at $40.88 billion on 31 December 2024. At $41.00 billion, the increase is about $124 million, or 0.30 per cent.
Most of the improvement has been concentrated in the past five weeks after a subdued first half of the year. Between January and June, reserves largely moved between $37 billion and $39 billion, influenced by interventions in the foreign exchange market, oil price changes and debt servicing.
Reserves dipped to $37.28 billion in early July before rebounding strongly. The turnaround since mid-July has added more than $3 billion, representing growth of about 8 per cent in just one month.
At $41 billion, Nigeria is now in its strongest reserve position since late 2021. The CBN earlier reported that increased capital inflows, improved crude oil production, rising non-oil exports and reduced imports had supported stability in the foreign exchange market.
