Daily Trust

CBN records $5.2bn positive FX inflow

- From Sunday Michael Ogwu, Lagos

An analysis by FBNQuest has revealed that the net foreign Currency (fx) flows through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were negative by US$760m in May but positive over the 12-month period to the tune of US$5.12bn.

Inflows through the CBN, which consist of monies from the oil economy and the non-oil public sector, declined from US$2.87bn to US$2.26bn in May.

Outflows, in contrast, rose from US$2.16bn to US$3.02bn in the same month, which the commentary attributed to inter-bank utilizatio­n, external debt service, drawings under letters of credit and an unspecifie­d “fx special payment”.

The report indicated further that, the surge in inflows to US$5.06bn in February coincides with the sale of Eurobonds to internatio­nal investors.

The pick-up in outflows through the CBN since February coincides with the CBN’s multiple currency practices. We recall that May was the full month of operation for the investors’ and exporters’ window (NAFEX).

According to the analyst: “We are not comparing apples with apples but we note that the net inflow through the CBN of US$5.12bn over the 12 months is consistent with the increase in gross official reserves of US$3.94bn over the same period.”

The data also captured flows through the economy as a whole (autonomous and CBN transactio­ns). They show autonomous inflows of US$3.52bn in May.

“Remittance­s alone are running at close to US$2bn per month according to the balance of payments. Autonomous outflows amounted to just USS160m in the month. So the net inflow for May was US$3.36bn for autonomous funds and US$2.60bn for the economy (adjusted for the CBN).” It added.

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