Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves Hit All-Time Low at $24 Billion in 2024, IMF Reports.
In its latest update, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted Nigeria’s concerning decline in foreign reserves, plummeting to a record low of $24 billion in 2024 from $33 billion in the previous year.
The IMF’s country report on Nigeria underscores potential economic challenges for the continent’s largest economy, attributing the drop in reserves despite a surplus in the current account during the first half of 2023.
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Forecasting the financial outlook, the report anticipates further deterioration in the financial account throughout 2024–25. Factors contributing to this decline include the absence of projected Eurobond issuances, substantial repayments totaling $3.5 billion for both the Fund and Eurobonds, alongside portfolio outflows.
Despite projections for a rebound in reserves to $38 billion by 2028 as portfolio inflows resume, the IMF expects a decline to $24 billion in 2024.
Contrary to the IMF’s projection, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicates that Nigeria’s foreign reserves slightly differed, standing at $33.12 billion as of February 8, 2024.
