Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) inflows experienced a remarkable increase of 70.5% year-on-year (YoY), reaching $42.06 billion in the first nine months of 2024 (9m’24), up from $24.66 billion in the same period of 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Quarterly Economic Statistics Report.
The report highlights a 41% YoY growth in total forex inflows to the economy, rising to $70.62 billion in 9m’24, from $50.04 billion in 9m’23. This surge signifies a substantial boost to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, driven by both official and autonomous sources.
Despite the impressive inflows, forex outflows also saw an increase, climbing by 12.3% YoY to $28.55 billion in 9m’24, compared to $25.42 billion in 9m’23. However, the rise in outflows was outpaced by the growth in inflows, leading to an overall increase in net forex inflows.
Autonomous sources, including foreign exchange remittances and private sector inflows, experienced a modest increase of 0.06% YoY, reaching $31.15 billion in 9m’24, up from $31.13 billion in 9m’23.
However, outflows through autonomous channels surged by 215% YoY, rising to $6.52 billion in 9m’24, from $2.07 billion in 9m’23. Despite this, net forex inflows through autonomous sources grew by 77.9%, reaching $35.6 billion in 9m’24, up from $20.01 billion in 9m’23.
The CBN also saw notable growth in forex inflows. Inflows through the central bank rose by 50% YoY, totalling $28.46 billion in 9m’24, up from $18.97 billion in 9m’23. At the same time, forex outflows from the CBN declined by 10% YoY, falling to $22.01 billion in 9m’24 from $24.49 billion in 9m’23. As a result, net forex inflows through the CBN surged by 250%, rising to $6.41 billion in 9m’24, up from $1.83 billion in 9m’23.
The CBN’s Economic Report for the third quarter (Q3’24) indicated that forex inflows through the economy increased by 3.01%, reaching $22.89 billion from $22.22 billion in Q2’24. However, forex outflows rose by 15.18% to $8.43 billion compared to Q2’24, resulting in a decrease in net forex inflows.
Q3 2024 Sees a Slight Decline in Net Forex Inflows
On the other hand, despite the strong performance in the first three quarters of 2024, Nigeria’s net forex inflows experienced a slight decline of 2.97% in Q3’24. The CBN reported that net inflows decreased to $14.46 billion, down from $14.89 billion in Q2’24.
Compared to Q3’23, net forex inflows surged by 75.91%, rising from $8.22 billion to $14.46 billion. The CBN’s report revealed that foreign exchange inflows to the economy rose by 3.01%, from $22.22 billion in Q2’24 to $22.89 billion in Q3’24.
Notably, inflows through official sources significantly increased, while those from autonomous sources declined. Forex inflows through the central bank rose by 39.63%, reaching $11.86 billion, up from $8.49 billion in Q2’24. Also, inflows from autonomous sources fell by 19.66%, dropping to $11.03 billion from $13.72 billion in the previous quarter.
Forex outflows for Q3’24 also increased by 15.18%, reaching $8.43 billion, up from $7.32 billion in Q2’24. Outflows through the central bank rose by 27.91% to $7.31 billion, while outflows from autonomous sources decreased by 30.06%, dropping to $1.12 billion.
As a result, net forex inflows through the economy decreased by 2.97%, from $14.89 billion in Q2’24 to $14.46 billion in Q3’24. Net inflows through autonomous sources fell to $9.90 billion from $12.12 billion in the preceding quarter. That said, net inflows through the central bank saw significant improvement, rising to $4.55 billion from a net outflow of $2.78 billion in Q2’24.
