The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso has said that the country’s gross external reserves rose to $52.52 billion as of July 17, 2026, up from $50.47 billion at the end of May.
Speaking on Tuesday while addressing newsmen after the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, Cardoso attributed the increase to higher inflows from crude oil-related taxes and third-party receipts.
“Gross external reserves rose to US$52.52 billion as of July 17, 2026, from US$50.47 billion as at end-May 2026, mainly as a result of receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party inflows,” Cardoso said.
He said the reserve level is sufficient to finance about 11 months of imports of goods and services.
“This is sufficient to finance approximately 11 months of imports of goods and services, surpassing the international benchmark of three months’ cover,” he said.
“The improvement in the reserve position underscores the resilience of the external sector and provides a stronger buffer against external shocks.”
Moreover, checks on the CBN website showed that the reserves have steadily increased since the beginning of the month, rising to $52.02 billion as of July 20, contrary to Cardoso’s claim.
On July 17, the foreign reserves stood at $51.94 billion.
On July 15, CBN issued operational guidelines for bureau de change (BDC) operators purchasing foreign exchange (FX) from authorised dealer banks, introducing stricter compliance requirements and an electronic transaction portal.
CBN said the framework takes immediate effect.
The apex bank said the guidelines provide the operational modalities for the implementation of its February 10, 2026, circular, which granted BDCs access to the official FX market through authorised dealer banks.
