Nigeria: Foreign exchange reserves gain $9.29 billion in nine months
Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves increased by $9.29 billion in the first nine months of 2026, reaching $54.86 billion as of September 24, 2026, compared to $45.57 billion on January 2, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported by the business media outlet Nairametrics. This 20.4% increase compares to a rise of only $1.32 billion over the same period in 2025.
The $50 billion threshold was crossed on June 4, 2026, and the $54 billion mark on September 3. The level reached exceeds the CBN's forecast for the entire year, set at $51.04 billion, by $3.82 billion, even before the end of the third quarter.
Where the money comes from
Foreign capital inflows explain the bulk of the movement. Nigeria attracted $10.37 billion in foreign capital in the first quarter of 2026, which is 83.8% more than the $5.64 billion in the first quarter of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Nairametrics. Portfolio investments dominate, with $3.37 billion in the month of January alone.
The Nigerian financial media outlet DMarketForces suggests a second driver: the rise in oil revenues and the development of local refining, which reduces the outflow of foreign currency spent on fuel imports. Nigerian crude production reached 1.56 million barrels per day in June 2026, its highest level since 2020, a volume still insufficient, according to this source, to fully supply the refining capacities installed in the country.
A comfortable cushion, but not an insurance policy
The composition of these reserves calls for caution. Portfolio capital improves foreign currency liquidity but remains much more sensitive to interest rates, exchange rate expectations, and the mood of global investors than long-term direct investment, Nairametrics emphasizes. In other words, a portion of this cushion could leave as quickly as it arrived.
For the largest economy in West Africa, the challenge is less about the displayed figure than its concrete translation: stability of the naira, access to foreign currency for businesses, and, ultimately, the prices paid by households. The coming months will show whether these reserves are based on sustainable flows or on transient capital.
This article was written in French with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited below, then translated from French automatically. Read the original.
