The CBN says the country’s foreign exchange reserves are at risk due to the petrol subsidy removal, lower crude oil earnings, increased external debt servicing obligations & rising import bills.

CBN disclosed this in its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade & Exchange Policy guidelines for fiscal years 2024/2025 released on September 17.

However, the CBN projected an overall positive economic growth for the period based on continued policy support to the agriculture & oil sectors, reforms in the foreign exchange market & the effective implementation of the Finance Act 2023 and the 2022-2025 Medium-Term National Development Plan.

According to the apex bank, “The outlook for Nigeria’s external sector in 2024/2025 is optimistic, with expectations of favorable terms of trade due to a sustained rally in crude oil prices & an improvement in domestic crude oil production.

The positive outlook is supported by the continued high crude oil prices, driven by production cuts as well as gains from capital flows and remittances