Nigeria's foreign reserves gain 8.8% to $46.2 billion in March

intern

April 2, 2018 9:51 AM

The Monetary Policy Committee meeting will kick off tomorrow, April 3, 2018

Nigerias foreign exchange reserves gained 8.8% as of March 28, 2018, to $46.2 billion compared to same period in February 2018, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The reserve is still far from the peak of $64 billion recorded in August 2008.

Debt sales such as Eurobond offering by federal government helped Nigeria to accrue billions of dollars in foreign reserves, Reuters reports.

The government raised $2.5 billion in Eurobonds in February and it is hoping to raise more.

Meanwhile, the Apex bank will hold its statutory Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Tuesday, April 3 and Wednesday April 4, 2018, the first meeting of such since January 2018.

The delay was as a result of an impasse between the legislative and executive arm of government which resulted in late confirmation of members of the monetary authority to form a quorum.

Godwin Emefiele, while receiving the new members of the MPC and the newly confirmed deputy governors last week, charged them to bring their experience to bear in the discharge of their new responsibilities, stressing that much was expected of them.

He expressed gladness that the bank now has a full complement of deputy governors to enable it to operate optimally as well as the required quorum to enable the MPC to hold its statutory meetings for formulating monetary and credit policy.

Tomorrow's meeting will determine whether the monetary authority will adjust or keep the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) which is currently at 14 percent; CRR at 22.5 percent; Liquidity Ratio at 30 percent and the Asymmetric Corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

intern