March 8, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported a significant increase in foreign exchange inflow into the economy in February.

Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Mrs Hakama Sidi, said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

Sidi said that the upsurge in forex inflow was recorded with marked increments in remittance payments by Nigerians overseas and purchases of naira assets by foreign portfolio investors.

According to her, the apex bank’s data indicates that overseas remittances rose to 1.3 billion dollars in February, more than four times the 300 million dollars received in January.

“Foreign investors purchased more than one billion dollars of Nigerian assets last month, with total portfolio flows of at least 2.3 billion dollars recorded thus far in 2024 compared to 3.9 billion dollars seen in total for last year,” she said.

She said that higher forex inflows has continued in March, driven by increased investor interest in short-term sovereign debt following the recent adjustment to benchmark interest rates.

She said that government securities issuances had been significantly oversubscribed, with foreign investors accounting for over 75 per cent of bids received at the auctions conducted on March 1 and 6.