Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves climbed to $41.00 billion as of August 19, 2025, reaching the highest level in 44 months, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The reserves have gained $1.46 billion in August alone, rising from $39.54 billion on August 1, representing a 3.69% increase in under three weeks. This steady growth comes after months of depletion driven by heavy external debt repayments.
The stronger reserves position enhances the CBN’s capacity to stabilise the naira, manage liquidity, and counter speculative pressures in the forex market.
On a year-to-date basis, however, the improvement has been modest, with reserves adding only $124 million (0.30%) from $40.88 billion recorded on December 31, 2024.
At $41 billion, Nigeria is now at its strongest external reserve level since December 3, 2021, marking a significant recovery from the drawdowns of 2022 and 2023 when reserves often fell below $38 billion
