The foreign exchange (FX) inflows to the economy rose to $24 billion in the first quarter of 2024 according to the Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV, the CBN boss said the monetary policy tools employed by the apex bank have been having positive impacts on the FX market.
Cardoso posited that the FX inflow of Q1 2024 represents about 50 per cent above the inflows recorded in previous quarters up to 2021. “The tools are having a positive impact. So, we believe that continuing this trajectory, liquidity will continue to grow,” he said. The CBN data further showed that FX inflows in the quarter under review, was 136 per cent of total inflows last year. In Q1, Nigeria saw a massive spike in inflows.
This increase has been attributed to major reforms to liberalize the foreign exchange markets, enhance transparency, reduce arbitrage opportunities, promote stability and improve liquidity in the market.
In data obtained from FMDQ’s website, total inflows into the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) increased by 41.7 per cent to $3.75 billion as against $2.64 billion in February – the highest level since March 2019 ($6.07 billion). Inflows from foreign sources spiked by 39.6 per cent ($1.54 billion) – the highest in over four years.
The data also indicated local sources accounted for 59 per cent of total transactions, while foreign sources contributed 41 per cent of gross transactions.
