FX inflow through CBN rises 31.8% to $1.52bn

Foreign exchange inflow through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rose by 31.8 percent to $1.51 billion in May 2016 from $1.14 billion in the preceding month. It fell by 38.53 percent compared with $2.45 billion in the corresponding period.

The development reflected a 272.8 percent and 116 percent rise in non-oil inflow relative to the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2015, respectively.

But aggregate outflows through the CBN, at $1.71 billion, fell by 19.8 percent and 41.5 percent, compared with the levels in April 2016 and the corresponding period of 2015, respectively. The development was driven, mainly, by the decrease in interbank sales, other official payments, and third party MDA transfers.

Overall, a net outflow of $0.20 billion was recorded through the CBN, compared with the net outflow of $0.99 billion in the preceding month.

Provisional data indicated that aggregate foreign exchange inflow into the economy was $3.93 billion in May 2016. This represented 6.2 percent and 39 percent decline relative to the levels at the end of the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2015, respectively.

The development relative to the preceding month was driven by the 20.4 percent decline in inflow through the autonomous sources. Of the total inflows, receipts through the CBN and autonomous sources accounted for 38.3 percent and 61.7 percent, respectively.

Non-oil sector inflows, at $1.06 billion (27% of the total), rose by 278.6 percent above the level in the preceding month. Autonomous inflows fell by 20.3 percent and 48.3 percent, below the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2015, respectively, and accounted for 61.8 percent of the total.

At $1.89 billion, aggregate foreign exchange outflow from the economy declined by 16.8 percent and 37.3 percent, compared with the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding month of 2015, respectively. Thus, foreign exchange flow through the economy resulted in a net inflow of $2.05 billion in the review month, compared with $2.99 billion and $3.44 billion in the preceding month and the corresponding month of 2015, respectively.