December 16, 2025/Coronation Research

Nigeria’s external reserves have historically exhibited cyclical movements, leaving the economy susceptible to both domestic and external shocks. Over time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has implemented a range of reserve management and external sector stabilisation measures, including export-led interventions, mobilisation of foreign portfolio inflows, external financing through Eurobonds, concessional loans, bilateral or multilateral credit lines, and currency swap arrangements.

While these structural strategies have underpinned Nigeria’s reserve-management framework, recent policy reforms, including forex liberalisation, measures to boost IMTO remittances, FX backlog clearance, electronic FX matching, petroleum subsidy removal (to reduce FX-intensive fuel imports), and a tighter monetary stance, have further reinforced external buffers. As a result, Nigeria’s gross international reserves (GIR) rose to US$40.88 billion (17.25% of 2024 nominal GDP) in 2024, up from US$32.91 billion (9.65% of 2023 nominal GDP), with reserves surpassing US$43.20 billion by end-October 2025.

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