Nigeria’s current account surplus rises 46% to $4.98bn

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By Elizabeth Adegbesan

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the country’s current account surplus rose by 46 percent year-on-year to $4.98 billion in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1’26).

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The apex bank disclosed this in its Balance of Payments (BoP) report for the period, noting that the surplus also increased by 255.7 percent quarter-on-quarter from $1.4 billion in Q4’25.

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According to the report, provisional balance of payments statistics showed that the $4.98 billion surplus was higher than the $1.40 billion recorded in Q4 2025 and $3.41 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

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The CBN attributed the improvement to higher export earnings and reduced import expenditure, particularly in the oil sector.

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It stated that crude oil export earnings rose from $6.77 billion to $8.11 billion, representing a 19.79 percent increase, while gas export earnings increased from $2.24 billion to $2.53 billion, a 12.95 percent rise.

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Export earnings from refined petroleum products also increased from $1.97 billion to $2.37 billion, a 20.3 percent growth.

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On the import side, refined petroleum product imports declined sharply from $2.48 billion to $0.31 billion, an 87.5 percent drop.

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The bank also noted a decline in net out-payments in the primary income account from $3.27 billion to $2.83 billion, representing a 13.46 percent decrease.

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The CBN said the goods account, a major component of the current account, recorded a surplus of $5.95 billion in Q1’26, compared to $1.77 billion in Q4’25 and $3.35 billion in Q1’25.

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However, the financial account remained in a net borrowing position, recording $2.51 billion in Q1’26, higher than $1.96 billion in the previous quarter.

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