Nigeria’s forex reserves fell to $40.68 billion as of Feb. 24, down 13.8 percent year-on-year, central bank figures showed on Wednesday.

Africa’s top oil exporter’s reserves stood at $47.18 billion a year earlier. They have fallen 6.5 percent this year.

Nigeria’s central bank has been burning its forex reserves in a bid to defend its ailing naira currency, under pressure initially from foreign investors selling frontier assets and now from importers. The naira has lost 3.2 percent this year.

Source; Reuters