NIGERIA’s foreign exchange inflow dropped by $2.96 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 from the figure in the corresponding period last year.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in its first quarter 2022 Economic Report, revealed that the inflow dropped by 14.4 per cent to $17.62bn, from $20.58bn in Q1 2021.
The bank explained that the development was driven by the 16.8 per cent and 12.4 per cent decline in inflows through the CBN and autonomous sources, respectively.
Foreign exchange inflow through the bank, at $7.63bn, fell below the $9.18bn in the preceding quarter.
Similarly, the apex bank revealed that foreign exchange outflow through the economy fell by 10.1 per cent to $10.98bn, relative to the level in the fourth quarter.
It noted that of the total, outflow through the bank amounted to $8.43bn, a decline of 20.3 per cent, relative to $10.58bn in the preceding quarter.
The report revealed that the bank sold $4.86bn worth of foreign exchange to authorised dealers in the first quarter of 2022, but recorded a 5.8 per cent decrease in the sale of foreign currency, compared with the previous quarter.
The report read, ‘Disaggregation shows that foreign exchange sales at interbank/invisibles and Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) windows declined by 16.9 per cent and 10.8 per cent to $0.46bn and $1.79bn,m respectively, relative to the levels in the preceding quarter.”
The CBN predicted a positive outlook on continued recovery of oil prices and rebound in manufacturing activities. It also assured of sustained policy support.
However, it noted that persisting insecurity, weak commodity value chain, and infrastructure deficit (including poor electricity supply), were possible headwinds that could undermine the outlook for growth.
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