Nigeria’s Gross External Reserves Grow by $5 Billion in Q3

Nigeria’s Gross External Reserves Grow by $5 Billion in Q3

Nigeria’s foreign reserves increased by more than $4 billion in the third quarter of 2025, according to details obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The external reserves printed at $42.225 billion as of September 25, following successive inflows from across sources, including remittance and investment inflows.

Data from the CBN showed the month of Sept witnessed a sequence of inflows despite fluctuation in global oil prices, and FX interventions sales to banks to aid naira stability at the forex market.

The nation’s foreign reserves is currently at the highest level seen in the last six years, according to CBN update data obtained by MarketForces Africa.

This week, Nigeria’s external reserves expanded to $42.225 billion, which is more than $5 billion above $37.21 billion at the end of June, 2025 – helped by flood of open market operations of the CBN, oil inflows and offshore remittances.

Key drivers, according to some analysts, are inflows from oil sales with Dangote Refinery latest successful exports. Nigeria’s oil production output has also increased helping in meeting the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies’ member quota. 

Analysts attribute improved FX inflows to market confidence following successful reforms, especially the reversal of the previous administration’s capital control policy that restrained dollar repatriation.

In the first quarter, the CBN successfully funded foreign portfolio investors who left Nigerian financial markets due to the United States’ distortion to global trade via steep tariffs on countries.

“On the back of improved transparency and greater market efficiency, the supply of foreign exchange has risen sharply in 2025.

“In just eight months, total FX inflows have reached $35.21 billion, surpassing the entire 2024 total of $31.11 billion and now standing as the highest level in the past eight years,” TrustBanc Financial Group said in a note.

Analysts explained that FX supply has been broadly distributed, reducing concentration risk. Foreign investors account for 33%, while CBN’s contribution stands at 14%, underscoring the growing depth of private inflows.

“The CBN’s monthly interventions remain targeted, designed solely to address short-term market distortions. Since September 2024, these interventions have averaged $605.6 million per month, with April 2025 seeing the highest intervention at $1.66 billion.

 “It’s important to note that the intervention by the apex bank does not signal a return to a fixed exchange rate regime, nor an attempt to defend the naira at a particular level.

“Rather, the current framework permits discretionary interventions when temporary imbalances/market distortions arise.

“One such instance was the panic triggered by President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day announcement, where global trade tariff concerns, rather than domestic fundamentals, drove volatility.

“Domestically, the CBN has introduced reforms to strengthen transparency,” TrustBanc explained in its update.

The firm identified that a key milestone was the introduction of the Bloomberg BMatch system under its Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), enhancing both visibility and efficiency in FX transactions.

 “…even with these interventions, the scale remains far below pre- and immediate post-COVID periods, when the CBN spent up to $2.3 billion monthly defending the naira at unsustainable levels”, analysts said. MTN Nigeria Slides Amidst Negotiated Block Trade