…FX utilisation fell by 25.03% in one month
Nigeria’s demand for foreign exchange eased at the start of 2026 as growing domestic refining capacity reduced the country’s fuel import bill and helped lower overall dollar usage, supporting the naira and contributing to a sharp rise in net foreign exchange inflows.
The naira appreciated to a near one-month high of N1,357.26 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market on Wednesday as liquidity conditions improved amid rising external reserves.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) January 2026 Economic Report, total imports declined by 3.0 percent to $4.20 billion in January from $4.33 billion in December 2025, driven largely by a drop in petroleum product imports as local refining capacity expanded.
The report showed that petroleum imports fell by 22.97 percent to $570 million in January from $740 million in the previous month, reflecting the impact of increased domestic refining
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