Nigeria External reserves drop to US$42.85b

22 Janvier 2014

LIBREVILLE, Jan 22  (Infosplusgabon)  - Nigeria Nigeria’s external reserves stood at US$42.85 billion as at 31 Dec. 2013, representing a drop of US$0.98 billion or 2.23% compared with the US$43.83 billion mark at end of 2012.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained 12% as the interest rate, according to a statement posted on the apex bank's website Wednesday.

The Committee, which ended a two-day meeting Tuesday in the capital city of Abuja, noted that the decrease in the reserves level resulted largely from a slowdown in portfolio and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in the fourth quarter of 2013.

It said this resulted in an increased funding of the foreign exchange market by the CBN to stabilise the local currency, the Naira.

The Committee also expressed concern over the continued depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA), the balance of which stood at less than US$2.5 billion as at 17 Jan. 2014, compared with about US$11.5 billion in December 2012.

”This absence of fiscal buffers increased our reliance on portfolio flows, thus constituting the principal risk to exchange rate stability, especially with uncertainties around capital flows and oil price,” CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/YER/GABON2014

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