The reserves, which stood at $43.174bn on January 31, dropped by $314m in two weeks to $42.86bn on February 14. The external reserves had risen to a high of $47.865bn on May 10, 2018, but plunged to $41.523bn on November 22. On December 13, the reserves stood at $42.877bn. According to the report, recent history suggests that election cycles are associated with decreased external reserves and increased forex demand. Analysts at Cordros Capital said on Friday that the forex reserves depleted for the second straight week as the CBN recorded another foreign reserve drawdown of $88.07m week-on-week to $42.86bn.

Source: Punch February 17, 2019 23:08 UTC