Fuel subsidy removal, others can pose risk to external reserves – CBN
The CBN says the country’s foreign exchange reserves are at risk due to the petrol subsidy removal, lower crude oil earnings, increased external debt servicing obligations & rising import bills.
CBN disclosed this in its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade & Exchange Policy guidelines for fiscal years 2024/2025 released on September 17.
However, the CBN projected an overall positive economic growth for the period based on continued policy support to the agriculture & oil sectors, reforms in the foreign exchange market & the effective implementation of the Finance Act 2023 & the 2022-2025 Medium-Term National Development Plan.
According to the apex bank, “The outlook for Nigeria’s external sector in 2024/2025 is optimistic, with expectations of favorable terms of trade due to a sustained rally in crude oil prices & an improvement in domestic crude oil production.
The positive outlook is supported by the continued high crude oil prices, driven by production cuts as well as gains from capital flows & remittances
