Nigeria’s Net Forex Inflow Rises 36.5% to $33.76bn in Five Months

Nigeria’s net foreign exchange inflow rose by 36.5% year-on-year to $33.76 billion in the first five months of 2026, up from $24.72 billion recorded in the same period of 2025.

The increase came as foreign exchange inflows strengthened while outflows declined significantly during the period, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monthly economic reports.

Aggregate forex inflow increased by 8% to $50.05 billion between January and May 2026, compared with $46.34 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

At the same time, total forex outflow fell by 24.6% to $16.29 billion, from $21.62 billion a year earlier.

Forex inflow through the CBN rose by 2.75% to $15.30 billion, compared with $14.89 billion in 5M’25, while inflows through autonomous sources increased by 10.5% to $34.76 billion.

The decline in outflows was largely driven by the CBN, whose forex outflow fell by 36.3% to $10.50 billion, from $16.51 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.

Outflow through autonomous sources, however, increased by 14.6% to $5.78 billion, compared with $5.04 billion recorded a year earlier.

As a result, autonomous sources generated a net forex inflow of $28.97 billion during the five-month period, up from $26.40 billion in 2025.

The CBN also recorded a positive net forex position of $4.80 billion, compared with $4.29 billion in the same period last year.

The stronger net position reflects the combination of higher foreign exchange inflows and lower overall outflows, supporting liquidity conditions in the market.

The improvement comes amid the CBN’s ongoing efforts to deepen the foreign exchange market, strengthen price discovery, improve transparency and encourage greater participation by banks and other authorised market operators.