ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s external reserves declined by $731 million (approximately ₦1.1 trillion) in the first three weeks of April 2026, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped up foreign exchange market interventions to stabilise the naira.
Okay News reports that the reserves fell from $49.18 billion on April 1, 2026, to $48.45 billion as of April 23, 2026, according to CBN data. The average weekly drop was about $233 million.
The sharpest drawdown occurred between April 1 and April 10, when reserves fell from $49.18 billion to $48.81 billion. The pace slowed later in the month, with reserves edging down from $48.62 billion on April 17 to $48.45 billion on April 23.
The movement extends a broader trend of reserve depletion since March 2026, when reserves fell from above $50.08 billion on March 12 to $49.61 billion by March 23. However, the current level remains significantly above the $37.83 billion recorded in the same period of 2025.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso had previously said the decline in reserves should not be a cause for concern, as the bank projected reserves could reach $51 billion by the end of 2026.
The CBN had built up reserves by about $509 million in the first 22 days of January 2026 before the current drawdown trend began.
