The Central Bank of Nigeria expended foreign exchange worth $1.32bn for oil imports in 2020 compared to $2.10bn in 2019.
The CBN’s data on sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for forex revealed that $148.32m was utilised in January for oil imports; $145.23m in February, and $139.55m in March.
Forex for oil import transactions fell to $113.80m in April and $109.11m in May but rose to $114.57m in June.
It stood at $77.36m in July; $82.37m in August; $72.63m in September; $78.86m in October; $92.91m in November and $146.95m in December.
Fuel consumption and imports fell in the second quarter of 2020 amid the lockdown imposed by the Federal Government to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The nation’s forex reserves have been fluctuating in recent months, rising from a low of $34.42bn on March 18 to $35.25bn on April 16. The reserves dropped to $35.09bn on April 23, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
