CBN FX sales jump 1,518% to $953m in March

The Central Bank of Nigeria sharply increased its foreign exchange interventions in March 2026, supplying $953.41m to the market, according to the latest Quarterly Statistical Bulletin. The figure marked the highest monthly level of FX sales in nearly a year, signalling a renewed effort to support liquidity after weak sales in the opening months of the year.

The March supply represented a steep recovery from the $244.13m sold in February and the $58.93m reported in January. Compared with February, FX sales rose by about 291 per cent, while the March figure was more than 16 times the January level.

Contents

01

Where the dollars went

02

A rebound after a long slide

03

A shifting market role

Where the dollars went

A breakdown of the data showed that spot market transactions accounted for the bulk of interventions, with $950.10m sold through this channel. An additional $3.31m was allocated to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

No sales were recorded in March 2026 under the Wholesale Dutch Auction System, Retail Dutch Auction System, interbank, inter-bank forward, Bureau de Change, Investors and Exporters, Secondary Market Intervention Sales or small and medium enterprise channels.

A rebound after a long slide

March 2026 recorded the highest level of FX sales since April 2025, when interventions reached $1.65bn. FX interventions had remained below $800m for much of 2026 after peaking at that April 2025 level.

Total FX sales fell through much of 2025 after reaching $1.65bn in April. Sales dropped to $838.93m in May and $676.31m in June, before falling further to $399.80m in September and just $150.10m in October. The figure subsequently recovered to $638.38m in November and $910.73m in December.

A shifting market role

The latest figures underscore changing patterns in Nigeria's foreign exchange market, where the central bank now plays a less dominant role than in previous years as private-sector inflows gain prominence.

Autonomous inflows accounted for 64.94 per cent of total FX inflows in 2025, rising to $72.91bn from $59.29bn in 2024 and $41.80bn in 2023. The sharp rebound in March suggests a significant change in the volume of dollars supplied through the CBN's reported sales channels as the apex bank sought to support liquidity and orderly conditions in the foreign exchange market.