Nigeria’s net foreign exchange (FX) flow stood at US$4.94 billion in March 2026, representing a 38% increase compared with the US$3.58 billion recorded in March 2025, despite a 29% monthly decline.
This is according to data from the Q1 2026 Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) quarterly Statistical Bulletin.
The net FX flow through the Nigerian economy fell from US$6.98 billion in February 2026 to US$4.94 billion in March.
Checks by Nairametrics reveal that this is the lowest since December 2025, when it was $ 4.49 billion.
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Net foreign exchange inflows are the positive difference between the total amount of foreign currency entering a country (or a specific financial system) and the total amount leaving it over a specific period.
What the data is saying
The apex bank data shows total FX inflows into the Nigerian economy stood at US$10.49 billion in March 2026, while total outflows reached US$5.54 billion, resulting in a net flow of US$4.94 billion.
- Total FX inflows fell from US$12.41 billion in January and US$9.49 billion in February to US$10.49 billion in March.
- FX outflows increased sharply from US$2.50 billion in February to US$5.54 billion in March.
- Net FX flow through the CBN turned negative at -US$1.66 billion in March, compared with positive flows of US$3.09 billion in January and US$1.34 billion in February.
- Net FX flow through autonomous sources rose to US$6.60 billion in March from US$5.64 billion in February.
- The March net flow was nevertheless higher than the US$3.58 billion recorded in the corresponding month of 2025.
The CBN did not provide an explanation for the decline.
Get up to speed
This mirrors the slowdown recorded in the first quarter of 2025, when net FX flow fell from about $7 billion in February to $3.5 billion in March.
- Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East triggered global risk-off sentiment, putting mild pressure on foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows, which declined to $1.9 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
- Also, NBS data showed that Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows stood at $135.08 million in Q1 2025, representing a decline of more than 62% from the previous quarter.
- The CBN reported that Nigeria recorded a net foreign exchange (FX) inflow of $15.20 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
Compared with the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria’s FX inflows grew by 18.68%, rising from $24.37 billion to $28.92 billion.
This was accompanied by a 32.72% increase in outflows, from $10.34 billion to $13.72 billion, largely driven by more liberalised access to foreign exchange and growing confidence among market participants.
Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria recorded an 11.78% decline in remittance inflows through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.
What you should know
The latest figures come after Nigeria recorded US$109.86 billion in total FX inflows in 2025, according to earlier CBN data reported by Nairametrics.
The annual inflow represented a 13.81% increase from the US$96.53 billion recorded in 2024, while aggregate FX outflows also increased during the year.
Nairametrics previously reported that data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show Nigeria attracted a total capital importation of $11.1 billion in the second and third quarters of 2025.
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