Nigeria’s money saved from the rest of the world has gone down by about $342.97 million in just nine days.
This information comes from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The small drop in Nigeria’s savings happened right before the government decided to sell a $500 million special bond inside the country.
This action is supposed to draw in local and foreign investors and help improve the external reserves.
What the numbers show
As of August 15, 2024, Nigeria’s reserves were $36.53 billion, dropping 0.93% from $36.87 billion on August 7, 2024.
On August 7, 2024, reserves were $36.87 billion. The next day, August 8, the reserves slightly dipped to $36.84 billion, a 0.06% drop.
By August 9, the reserves went down to $36.83 billion, a smaller daily drop of 0.05%.
The reserves kept getting smaller, with August 12 showing a drop to $36.62 billion, a 0.57% decrease from three days earlier.
On August 13, the reserves stood at $36.57 billion, a further drop of 0.14%.
By August 14, the reserves slightly decreased to $36.54 billion, a small dip of 0.02%, showing the ongoing pressure on the reserves.
First time in 4 months
By August 15, 2024, the reserves were down to $36.53 billion, a 0.26% drop from the day before and a total drop of 0.93% over nine days.
This ongoing drop comes after the reserves grew by about $4 billion over four months.
This shows the difficulties Nigeria’s financial leaders face in keeping reserves high, especially with the need to pay for imports and debts, and keep the naira stable.
What you need to know
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said earlier that the $500 million domestic dollar bond will help boost reserves and stabilize the country’s foreign exchange.
He said this at an event in Lagos before the bond sale was set to start on Monday.
He added, “This important bond sale will provide needed foreign exchange and boost reserves. This will help stabilize the exchange rate, control inflation, and eventually lower interest rates. It will also help bring more investments from both local and foreign investors.”
He also said the bond is a strategy to put funds into areas that will help Nigeria’s economy grow.
Newslodge reported that the Nigerian government plans to sell its dollar-based bond on Monday, hoping to raise $500 million from local and foreign investors.
This dollar bond is Nigeria’s first of its kind. It offers full repayment of the principal amount in US dollars after five years.
The government hopes to double the amount raised to $1 billion through this bond auction.
Investors can start with as little as $10,000 and invest more in multiples of $1,000.