Nigeria’s net forex inflow increases by 67% to $27.6bn

This increase was driven by two factors:

Net forex inflows from private sources (autonomous sources) grew by 34.6%, and Net forex inflows through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased by 170%.

From $33.7B in H1’23 to $47.73B in H1’24, data from the CBN showed that total forex inflows into Nigeria’s economy grew by 41.6% while the amount of foreign currency leaving the economy (forex outflows) rose from $17.3B in H1’23 to $20.12B in H1’24, an increase of 16.3%.

Breakdown of Autonomous Sources

Inflows from private sources grew by 47.6%, reaching $31.15B in H1 ’24, up from $21.16B in H1’23.

Just like inflows, outflows from these sources also increased sharply by 160.8%, reaching $5.4B in H1’24, compared to $2.07B in H1’23.

As a result, net forex inflows from private sources rose from $19.09B in H1 ’23 to $25.7B in H1’24, a 34.6% surge.

The Role of the Central Bank.

Rising by 31.7%, inflows through the CBN reached $16.6B in H1 ’24 from $12.6B in H1 ’23.

On the other hand, outflows via the CBN dropped by 15%, decreasing to $14.7B in H1’24 from $17.29B in H1’23.

The result of this is a turnaround in net inflows through the CBN, which rose by 170% to $1.86B in H1 ’24, in contrast to a net outflow of -$2.65B in H1’23.

Impact of International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs):

Inflows from International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) also increased from $1.58B in H1’23 to $2.33B in H1’24, rising by 47%. This increase came after recent measures by the CBN allowing eligible IMTOs access to naira liquidity at official rates.

The CBN is implementing these measures in order to improve the foreign exchange market and encourage more remittances to flow through formal channels.