Nigeria’s current account surplus rose by 255.71% to $4.98 billion in the first quarter of 2026, from $1.40 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to provisional balance of payments statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (BOP).

The surplus was also 46.04% higher than the $3.41 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, indicating a stronger external position driven largely by higher export receipts, lower petroleum product imports and reduced primary income outflows.

The CBN’s Balance of Payments Highlights for Q1 2026 showed that the improvement was supported by a stronger goods account surplus, which rose to $5.95 billion from $1.77 billion in the preceding quarter.

What the report says

The report read, “Provisional balance of payments (BOP) statistics for Q1 2026 show a current account surplus of US$4.98 billion, which was higher than the $1.40 billion and $3.41 billion recorded in the preceding quarter (Q4 2025) and corresponding period (Q1 2025) respectively.”

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  • The goods account recorded a 236.16% quarter-on-quarter increase, rising to $5.95 billion in Q1 2026, compared with $1.77 billion in Q4 2025 and $3.35 billion in Q1 2025.

According to the CBN, total exports rose to $15.49 billion in Q1 2026 from $13.36 billion in Q4 2025, largely due to higher crude oil, gas and refined petroleum product exports.

  • Crude oil export earnings increased by 19.79% to $8.11 billion, from $6.77 billion in the previous quarter, while gas export earnings rose by 12.95% to $2.53 billion, from $2.24 billion.
  • Refined petroleum product exports also increased by 20.30% to $2.37 billion, from $1.97 billion in Q4 2025, while non-oil and electricity exports rose by 4.62% to $2.49 billion.
  • On the import side, total imports declined to $9.54 billion in Q1 2026 from $11.59 billion in the preceding quarter, reflecting a sharp fall in refined petroleum product imports and lower non-oil imports.
  • Refined petroleum product imports dropped by 87.50% to $0.31 billion from $2.48 billion, while non-oil imports fell by 10.49% to $7.85 billion from $8.77 billion.

However, crude oil imports rose sharply to $1.39 billion from $0.34 billion, representing an increase of 308.82%.

Remittances fall, services deficit widens

Despite the stronger current account position, other components of the current account showed mixed performance.

  • The services account deficit widened to $3.71 billion in Q1 2026 from $3.32 billion in Q4 2025. The CBN attributed the increase in net services out-payments to higher net debits in travel and other business services.
  • The primary income account recorded a lower deficit of $2.83 billion, compared with $3.27 billion in Q4 2025. The decline was linked to reduced dividend and interest payments to non-residents, particularly direct investors.
  • The secondary income account balance fell to $5.57 billion from $6.21 billion in the preceding quarter. Personal transfers, mostly workers’ remittances from Nigerians in the diaspora, declined to $5.30 billion from $5.72 billion in Q4 2025.

This suggests that while trade flows provided strong support to the current account, remittance inflows softened during the period.

Portfolio inflows strengthen financial account

The financial account retained a net borrowing position of $2.51 billion in Q1 2026, compared with $1.96 billion in Q4 2025.

  • Portfolio investment liabilities recorded a significant inflow of $6.03 billion, higher than the $5.27 billion recorded in the previous quarter, showing continued foreign investor interest in Nigerian financial assets.
  • However, direct investment inflows declined slightly to $1.03 billion from $1.11 billion, indicating that foreign direct investment remained weaker than portfolio flows.

The report also showed that direct investment assets recorded an outflow of $0.20 billion, while portfolio assets recorded an outflow of $0.26 billion, reflecting Nigerian investments abroad during the period.

  • Other investment liabilities recorded a reversal of $0.22 billion, while other investment assets recorded an inflow of $1.93 billion.
  • Nigeria’s overall balance of payments surplus stood at $2.38 billion in Q1 2026, lower than the $2.67 billion surplus recorded in Q4 2025.

The CBN also reported that net errors and omissions widened to negative $7.49 billion, compared with negative $3.36 billion in the previous quarter.

  • Meanwhile, external reserves rose to $48.35 billion at the end of March 2026, from $45.75 billion at the end of December 2025, reflecting an accretion of $2.60 billion during the quarter.

The data point to an improved external sector position in Q1 2026, supported mainly by stronger oil-related exports and a steep reduction in refined petroleum imports, although weaker remittances, a wider services deficit and large net errors and omissions remain key pressure points.

What you should know

Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s current account surplus declined sharply by 65.52% to $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, down from $4.06 billion recorded in the third quarter (Q3).

Also, the country’s overall balance of payments (BOP) surplus fell to $2.67 billion in Q4 2025, compared to $4.6 billion in the preceding quarter.