By Mariam Abeeb
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says Nigeria’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus fell to $2.38 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.
The BOP is a record of all financial transactions made between a country and the rest of the world over a specific period — usually a year or a quarter.
A surplus occurs when a nation gets more money from international transactions (exports, income, financial inflows) than it pays out, resulting in a net inflow of foreign currency.
Data released by the apex bank showed that the surplus declined from the $2.67 billion recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
Despite the drop in the overall balance, the country’s current account surplus rose significantly to $4.98 billion in Q1 2026 from $1.40 billion in the preceding quarter.
“Provisional balance of payments (BOP) statistics for Q1 2026 show current account surplus of US$4.98 billion, which was higher than the US$1.40 billion and US$3.41 billion recorded in the preceding quarter (Q4 2025) and corresponding period (Q1 2025) respectively,” CBN said.
The improvement was driven by higher earnings from crude oil, gas and refined petroleum product exports, as well as a sharp decline in imports of refined petroleum products.
According to the data, crude oil export earnings increased by 19.8 percent to $8.11 billion from $6.77 billion in Q4 2025, while gas exports rose by 13 percent to $2.53 billion.
Also, refined petroleum product exports also increased by 20.3 percent to $2.37 billion during the period.
The apex bank said imports of refined petroleum products fell by 87.5 percent to $310 million in Q1 2026 from $2.48 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
As a result, CBN said goods account surplus rose to $5.95 billion from $1.77 billion in Q4 2025.
The report added that total exports surged to $15.49 billion in Q1 2026 from $13.36 billion in Q4 2025, while non-oil exports also recorded a modest rise of 4.62 percent to reach $2.49 billion.
On the import side, total imports declined to $9.54 billion from $11.59 billion in Q4 2025, heavily subdued by the drop in fuel imports.
However, crude oil imports bucked the downward trend, jumping 308.82 percent from $0.34 billion to $1.39 billion, while non-oil imports decreased by 10.49 percent to $7.85 billion.
The report also showed that net outpayments in the services account increased to $3.71 billion in Q1 2026 from $3.32 billion in Q4 2025, driven by higher travel and business service debits.
“The debit balance in the primary income account decreased to $2.83 billion in Q1 2026, from US$3.27 billion in Q4 2025. This was largely attributable to decrease in out-payments (dividend and interest) to non-residents’ investments mostly to direct investors,” the report added.
The secondary income account balance, which largely captures diaspora remittances and personal transfers, decreased to $5.57 billion from $6.21 billion in the preceding quarter.
The regulator said financial account remained in a net borrowing position, recording net borrowing of $2.51 billion in Q1 2026 compared with $1.96 billion in the preceding quarter.
CBN said the movement was primarily driven by a significant inflow of portfolio investment liabilities (FPI), which stood at $6.03 billion in Q1 2026, compared to $5.27 billion in Q4 2025, offsetting a marginal decline in direct investment inflows.
In addition, Nigeria’s stock of external reserves experienced a robust accretion, climbing to $48.35 billion at the end of March 2026, from the $45.75 billion recorded at the end of December 2025.
