The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has on Tuesday cleared an additional $400 million foreign exchange (FX) backlog of identified, genuine forward requests.

Yemi Cardoso disclosed this on Tuesday after the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 400 basis points to 22.75 percent from 18.75 in July 2023.

He also noted that Nigeria’s external reserves have risen to $34 billion as against $33 billion at the beginning of the year.

“We are committed to clearing the FX backlog of identified and genuine requests that are pending. We paid $400 million FX backlogs that are so identified. We will continue to do so in one form or the other,” Cardoso said during a press briefing on the outcome of the MPC.

“The CBN has said that it will clear ‘all genuine FX backlog requests’. For as long as this remains the official line, it suggests that the FX demand backlog that does not meet the requisite hurdle will seek a route through the parallel market instead. More reassurance – perhaps in the form of positive real rates – may yet be needed to stabilise markets,” Razia Khan, managing director, Chief Economist, Africa and Middle East Global Research at Standard Chartered Bank, said.

On February 5, 2024, the CBN said it has reduced the $7 billion FX backlog it inherited to $2.2 billion and vowed it was working to clear the outstanding balance.