Nigeria's foreign reserves hit $52.5bn, inflation eases slightly

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves have seen a significant increase, reaching $52.52 billion as of July 17, up from $50.47 billion at the end of May, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Yemi Cardoso announced Tuesday. This boost is primarily attributed to receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party inflows.

Cardoso stated that the current reserve level is robust enough to finance approximately 11 months of imports for goods and services, comfortably surpassing the international benchmark of three months' cover. This indicates a strengthening of the nation's external financial position.

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This is sufficient to finance approximately 11 months of imports of goods and services, surpassing the international benchmark of three months cover.

In terms of inflation, the CBN governor reported a marginal easing of headline inflation to 15.91% in June, a slight decrease from 15.93% in May. This moderation ended a three-month trend of rising prices, largely due to a decrease in the non-food component that offset an increase in food inflation. Food inflation rose to 17.52% in June from 16.96% in May, attributed to supply constraints, while core inflation moderated to 15.92%.

The Nigerian economy also showed resilience, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanding by 3.89% in the first quarter of 2026. This growth was mainly driven by the non-oil sector, which expanded by 3.94%, supported by improvements in telecommunications, financial services, trade, and transportation. The oil sector's GDP growth rate declined to 2.57% in Q1 2026 from 6.79% in the previous quarter due to facility maintenance.

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This is largely driven by the resilience of the non-oil sector, which grew by 3.94%, supported by improvements in telecommunications, financial services, trade, transportation, and other services sub-sectors.