The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said nation’s foreign exchange reserves added at $991 million in November to close at $34.8 billion as of November 29, 2017.
In November, 2017, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves sustained its momentum with an opening figure of $33.8 billion in November 1, 2017. The nation’s foreign exchange buffer has climbed 34.7 per cent or $8.97 billion this year, but is still far off a peak of $64 billion hit in August 2008.
The price of Organization of Exporting Countries (OPEC) basket of 14 crude countries gained 9.9 per cent to $60.06 per barrel as at November 30, 2017 from $53.3 it started trading early this year.
Global oil prices continued to rally above $60 per barrel extended to new heights in 2017 with Brent crude climbing to a level last seen in mid-2015, stoking hopes in the industry that the market has finally turned a corner following a three-year slump.
An oil price recovery has been under way since June as crude demand finally starts to outpace supply, with Brent rallying by almost 40 per cent to $61 a barrel, as the global oil glut that had built up over the previous three years starts to draw down.
The CBN Governor. Mr. Godwin Emefiele last week said the country’s foreign reserves had risen to $35.2 billion from $23 billion in October last year. He did not mention specifically when the foreign exchange buffer rose to $35.2 billion.
He had attributed the rise in foreign reserves and domestic production to what he described as “our development finance effort and the dogged implementation of our foreign exchange policies.”
Source: today.ng
