CBN FX sales surge to $953 million in March after January slump

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recorded total foreign exchange sales of $953.41 million in March 2026, the highest monthly level since April 2025.

This is according to data contained in its latest Quarterly Statistical Bulletin.

The March figure represents a sharp increase from the $244.13 million recorded in February and the $58.93 million supplied in January 2026.

What the data is saying

CBN data shows that total forex sales rose by $709.28 million between February and March 2026, representing an increase of about 291%. The March figure was also more than 16 times the amount recorded in January.

• Total forex sales stood at $953.41 million in March, comprising $950.10 million in FX spot sales and $3.31 million in FX sales to MDAs.
• March’s total was the highest since April 2025, when the CBN recorded $1.65 billion in total forex sales.

The March increase also marked a significant recovery from the relatively low levels recorded during the first two months of the year.

More Insights

The data shows that the composition of forex supply has changed significantly in recent years, with the CBN recording much lower total sales compared with earlier periods.

• In March 2025, total forex sales stood at $1.04 billion, while April 2025 recorded $1.65 billion, the highest monthly figure in the 12-month period covered by the latest data.
• Total forex sales fell to $838.93 million in May 2025 and $676.31 million in June.
• Sales remained below $800 million in most of the following months, falling to $399.80 million in September and $150.10 million in October.
• The figure recovered to $638.38 million in November and $910.73 million in December.

The first two months of 2026 then recorded a sharp decline, with total sales falling to $58.93 million in January before recovering to $244.13 million in February.

The March rebound therefore represents a notable increase in the amount of foreign exchange recorded through the CBN’s reported sales channels.

Other reported categories contributed relatively small amounts during the month, with FX sales to MDAs accounting for $3.31 million, while no sales were recorded under Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS)/Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS), interbank, inter-bank forward, BDC, Investor and Exporter (I&E), Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), or SME channels in the March data.

What you should know

Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s foreign exchange market recorded a decisive structural shift in 2025, with autonomous sources — private capital flows outside the CBN’s direct control — accounting for 64.94% of total FX inflows during the year.

Autonomous inflows surged to $72.91 billion in 2025, up from $59.29 billion in 2024 and $41.80 billion in 2023, reflecting a near-doubling of private-sector dollar flows in just two years.

Nigeria unified its multiple exchange rate windows in 2023, removing the arbitrage opportunities that previously distorted FX flows and suppressed formal market participation.