The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has adjusted the Nigeria Customs Exchange rate to clear goods from Nigeria’s air and seaports.

The apex bank increased the rate to clear goods at Nigerian ports from N1,436.41 per dollar to N1,546.221.

CBN fixes new exchange rates for cargo clearance

Information from the Customs trade portal shows that the CBN last updated the FX rate to clear goods about one week ago.

The development came as the naira closed flatly on the second of January in the official exchange rate window.

The Nigerian currency ended on a flat note following the decline in external reserves this year.

The naira falls in the official and black markets

Data from the CBN shows that the local currency lost about 0.2% as the dollar sold for N1,548 on Friday, January 17, 2025, relative to the N1,544.40 it traded the previous day as the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).

CBN explained that NFEM is derived at the weighted average volume and is the official exchange rate for the day.

The naira gained 0.8% daily as the US dollar sold for N1,548 on Friday against the N1,560 per dollar it quoted in the official window on Thursday, January 16, 2025.

Dealers quoted the dollar at a high of N1,552, losing N4 relative to the N1,548 on Friday.

In the parallel market, the naira fell by N12 or 0.8% as the dollar sold for N1,680 on Friday, January 17, 2025, relative to the N1,680 it sold the previous day.

Nigeria’s FX reserves decline

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves, which grew in the past year, have declined sharply due to external debt servicing.

An analysis from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that Nigeria’s external reserves fell by $320 million, a 0.8 decline in two weeks.

Analysts identify the reason for the reserves decline.

As of January 13, 2025, the reserves stood at about $40.56 billion, relative to $40.88 billion on January 2, 2025.

Analysts blamed the decline on two key factors: international payments like debt servicing and the CBN's FX interventions.

Nigeria’s external debt servicing expenditures stood at $3.6 billion in the first nine months of 2024, a 39.8% increase of $1.02 billion over the $2.6 billion spent in 2023.

The decline shows the ongoing hassles posed by Nigeria’s external debt servicing obligations and the desire to stabilize the exchange rate market.

Another reason for the depletion of the reserves is the apex bank’s intervention in the FX market, which aims to stabilize the local currency by supplying dollars to meet market demands.