Do you know that many Nigerians are angry about the depletion of the foreign exchange reserves.
If they get the opportunity, they will make the Central Bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, pay.
Sadly, some of these people do not know why the foreign reserves plummeted.
They are working with the half-truth you find on social media.
You see, it is not in all cases that two plus two equals four, at times the result is different.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Olayemi Cardoso has made an effort to explain the reason behind the reduction of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
Cardoso said Nigeria incurred some debts over the years and it must not default in making payments to offset these debts.
According to him, the decline in external reserves was due to debt repayments.
Have You Read: Naira’s Recovery: Why Foreign Reserves Crashed To $32.29bn
“The shift in our reserves is the shift you will see in any country’s reserve where the debts are due and certain payments are made.
“And these payments are made because that is also part of keeping your credibility intact.”
Cardoso made this known at the 2024 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC.
However, data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange shows that the CBN has spent $581 million on foreign exchange intervention.
The CBN carried out the foreign exchange intervention at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Cardoso Debunks Rumour About Using External Reserves To Defend Naira
Cardoso revealed this while explaining that the CBN did not use external reserves to defend naira value.
According to data from the FMDQ, the CBN has sold only $581 million in the official market.
This represents for about 3.2% of the total market turnover of $17.938 billion in the same period.
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CBN Have BDCs $60m
Over the last two months, the CBN has sold around $60 million to BDCs, since it resumed dollar sales to them this year.
Current figures from the CBN, as at April 15, 2024, pegged the FX reserves at $32.29 billion, a decline from $34.45 billion recorded on March 18, 2024.