Deborah Akinyosoye
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed to $41.00 billion as of August 19, 2025, the highest level in 44 months, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The current level is the strongest since December 3, 2021, marking a sharp rebound after months of depletion and volatility driven by external debt repayments.
The latest increase highlights improved foreign exchange inflows and strengthens the CBN’s capacity to stabilise the naira, manage liquidity, and defend against speculative pressure.
The build-up has been particularly strong in August, with reserves adding $1.46 billion month-to-date, rising from $39.54 billion on August 1 to $41.00 billion on August 19.
This represents a 3.69 percent growth in less than three weeks, averaging about $81 million per day. Reserves crossed the $40 billion threshold on August 7, advanced to $40.5 billion by August 12, and reached the $41 billion milestone just a week later.
Despite this surge, year-to-date performance shows only modest gains. Nigeria’s reserves stood at $40.88 billion at the end of December 2024, meaning the current level reflects an increase of about $124 million, or 0.30 percent, since the beginning of the year.
The bulk of the growth has come in the past five weeks, following a relatively subdued first half of 2025 when reserves fluctuated between $37 billion and $39 billion.
Reserves had dipped to as low as $37.28 billion in early July before the sharp turnaround that has since added more than $3 billion, equivalent to an 8 percent rise within a month.
The latest rebound places Nigeria in its strongest external reserve position since late 2021, reversing the prolonged drawdowns that weighed heavily on reserves through 2022 and 2023.