Nigeria: foreign reserves reach seven-year high

Nigeria’s foreign reserves have risen to $46.7 billion, the highest level since 2018, reports Nairametrics on November 18th. 

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, linked the rise to a stronger portfolio incomes, improved oil receipts and policies that have stabilised the foreign exchange market. He also said that inflationary pressures are easing. 

Inflation slowed to 16.05 percent in October 2025, down from 34.6 percent in November last year. Cardoso defined the decline as “the lowest in three years”.

The CBN governor remarked that recent reforms had altered investor outlook and boosted Nigeria’s Macroeconomic outlook. 

Reuters reported on November 14th that S&P Global Ratings changed its outlook on Nigeria to “positive” from “stable” as a result of the country’s ongoing economic reforms.

In a statement, S&P states: “The monetary, economic, and fiscal reforms being implemented by Nigerian authorities will yield positive benefits over the medium term.” 

In September, CBN cut its key lending rate for the first time since 2020. Cardoso said that the rate cut was based on projections for declining inflation for the rest of 2025, according to CNBC Africa.

Reuters has also reported that inflation in the country reached a 28-year peak in 2024, with President Bola Tinubu’s decision to devalue the naira and cut subsidies contributing to this. Since the start of the year, there has been a downward trend trajectory after the statistics office revised its base year and altered the weights of items in its price index.

Nairametrics, Reuters, CNBC Africa, Maghrebi.org