Recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that Nigeria’s external reserves increased by $58 million to $30.23 billion on March 14, 2017.

According to the data, the reserves were lingering between $29 billion and $30 billion this month.

Although the apex bank is yet to disclose the reasons behind the recent increase, experts attribute the rise to a steady increase in global oil prices, amongst others.

“As indicated in earlier Exchange Rate analysis, the external reserves was weak all through 2016 and greatly limited the CBN’s ability to support price stability. The weak oil receipts in the course of the year resulted in depletion of the reserves account which eventually hit a 15-year low of $23.89 billion on October 19th. The marginal increase in oil production after the government and Niger-Delta Avengers entered into truce equally contributed to the recent rally on the reserves,” experts at GTI Securities Limited, a Lagos-based securities firm, said.

Furthermore, the output cut agreement reached by OPEC and non-OPEC members in December 2016, is expected to boost the foreign reserves in the future and support fiscal and monetary policies in bringing the economy out of recession.

Anita Fatunji