Foreign reserves drop to $29.13b

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday said that the nation’s foreign exchange reserves declined to $29.13 billion as at December 29.
The bank said on its Website that the drop represented 2.43 per cent from $29.31 billion recorded as at December 23
The foreign reserves have been dropping since July 1, 2015.
The nation’s external reserves stood at $34.49 billion as at Jan 5, 2015 from the 34.47 billion dollars recorded in Dec. 31, 2014.
But shortages of U.S. Dollar has forced Nigeria’s external reserves into a massive decline hitting a new low of 29.73 billion dollar as at December 11, while the value of the Naira declined in the unofficial foreign exchange market.
The central bank had spent around $5 billion between January and July defending the Naira, which was hit by the 2014 plunge in oil prices.
The CBN in November said it was able to save $300 million as at August from Bureau De Change (BDC), through its provision that request for forex must be accompanied by the BVN of the customers.