By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Nigeria’s foreign reserves surged to $46.7 billion as of November 14, 2025, hitting the strongest level in seven years.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, November 18, at the 20th anniversary of the Monetary Policy Department.
Cardoso, represented by the Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy, Dr Muhammad Abdullahi, said this is the first time the country has attained such a level since 2018.
He added that the amount could cover more than 10 months of imports, noting that the milestone indicates renewed investor confidence, improved oil receipts, and stronger balance-of-payments inflows.
The CBN governor said: “Foreign reserves have risen to $46.7 billion as of November 14, 2025, providing 10.3 months of import cover in goods and services, supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor participation across various asset classes.
“This accretion reflects investor confidence in our policies leading to improved oil receipts, stronger balance of payments, and renewed foreign portfolio inflows.”
Cardoso said the recent stabilisation of the naira was driven by a stronger reserves position, noting that the gap between the official and Bureau de Change windows had narrowed to below two per cent.
He stressed that the naira’s recovery and stabilisation encouraged foreign participation in Nigeria’s fixed-income and money markets, with investors responding to clearer policy signals and tighter monetary conditions.
The CBN governor also noted that the reforms, which have seen increased foreign currency inflows, had also translated into sustained disinflation.
Recall that Nigeria’s headline inflation declined for the seventh consecutive month to 16.05 per cent in October 2025, the lowest in three years, from a peak of 34.6 per cent in November 2024.
According to Cardoso, the broader improvement in Nigeria’s economic indicators had been recognised globally, citing S&P Global Ratings, which recently revised the country’s outlook from stable to positive.
“All three top international ratings agencies upgraded Nigeria,” he said.
In addition, the CBN governor noted that Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force Grey List further boosted international confidence, saying it demonstrated the country’s “full alignment with global standards.”
At the event, Cardoso reflected on two decades of monetary policy evolution, stressing that the Monetary Policy Department (MPD) was responsible for several major reforms, including the introduction of the Monetary Policy Rate in 2006, the adoption of the interest-rate corridor system, strengthened monetary policy analysis, improved communication, and the ongoing transition towards a full inflation-targeting regime.
He noted that the department was central to the CBN’s policy design and coordination, providing technical support to the Monetary Policy Committee and the Monetary Policy Technical Committee.
The CBN governor noted that recent years had been “transformative for the Nigerian economy,” backed by decisive reforms that restored macroeconomic confidence.
