Nigeria’s FX inflow in Q1 2024 was $24bn, says Cardoso

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
says the country recorded a total foreign exchange inflow of about $24 billion
in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.



 



Cardoso made this known during an interview with Bloomberg
TV on Tuesday.



 



The CBN governor said the monetary policy tools employed by
the apex bank are showing positive impacts on the FX market.



 



According to Cardoso, the FX inflow of Q1 2024 is about 50
percent above the inflows recorded in previous quarters up to 2021.



 





“The tools are having a positive impact. So we believe that
continuing on this trajectory, we believe that liquidity will continue to
grow,” he said.



 



Cardoso said CBN has set up a committee to facilitate more
inflow of diaspora funds into the official FX market.



 



He said the committee reported directly to him with the sole
objective of doubling the inflow of foreign exchange from the international
monetary operations.



 



The governor also said the committee has begun to yield
positive outcomes with an increase in inflow from Nigerians in the diaspora.



 



“We’ve had a recognition of the huge role the Nigerian
diasporans play in remitting tremendous amounts of money into the system over
some time,” he said.



 



“We set up a committee which reports directly to me to
double the amount of foreign exchange inflow coming from the IMTO who service
that segment of the autonomous players.



 



“Capital inflows are very important. And the reason why is
that in the case of Nigeria, the pass-through from the foreign exchange rate
into inflation is quite significant. We believe that this is an area outside of
the normal day-to-day operations that NNPC and exporters will help in closing
the gap.



 



 “Already, it’s
beginning to bring about results. Again, we are confident that with these kinds
of measurements, liquidity will increase in our market.”



 



Based on the data published on the CBN website, the
country’s FX reserves stood at $33.91 billion as of June 24.



 



In March, the apex bank said the economy recorded over $1.5
billion in FX inflow in the same month, indicating its monetary policy
initiatives are effective.