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

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sharply increased foreign exchange sales in March 2026, recording $953.41 million in total FX sales, more than 16 times the $58.93 million supplied in January and the highest monthly level in nearly a year.

The latest figure, contained in the CBN’s Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, represents a 291 per cent increase from the $244.13 million recorded in February and a $894.48 million, or 1,518 per cent, increase from January’s level.

March’s FX sales were the highest since $1.65 billion was recorded in April 2025, highlighting a significant increase in the CBN’s reported foreign exchange supply after a sharp contraction during the first two months of 2026.

The March figure comprised $950.10 million in FX spot sales and $3.31 million in sales to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The sharp rebound 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.

CBN data showed that total FX sales had declined substantially through much of 2025 after reaching $1.65 billion in April. Sales fell to $838.93 million in May and $676.31 million in June, before dropping to $399.80 million in September and just $150.10 million in October.

The figure subsequently recovered to $638.38 million in November and $910.73 million in December.

That recovery was abruptly reversed at the beginning of 2026, with total sales plunging to $58.93 million in January before rising to $244.13 million in February.

March’s $953.41 million therefore represents a major return of CBN-supplied foreign exchange after the unusually low volumes recorded earlier in the year.

The data also show that the March increase was concentrated almost entirely in spot transactions. No sales were recorded 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.

The latest figures come against a changing structure in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, where private-sector and other autonomous dollar inflows have become increasingly important since the unification of the country’s exchange-rate windows in 2023.

Autonomous inflows accounted for 64.94 per cent of total FX inflows in 2025, rising to $72.91 billion from $59.29 billion in 2024 and $41.80 billion in 2023.

The shift suggests that while CBN intervention remains an important component of dollar liquidity, the broader stability of the naira increasingly depends on the strength and consistency of autonomous foreign exchange inflows.

For businesses and investors, the surge in official FX sales is significant because greater dollar liquidity can reduce short-term pressure on the naira, improve access to foreign exchange for legitimate transactions and support more orderly price discovery.

The key question, however, is whether the March increase represents a sustained change in the CBN’s intervention pattern or a temporary response to prevailing market conditions. The trajectory of FX sales and autonomous inflows in subsequent months will determine whether the March rebound translates into more durable currency-market stability.