Nigeria's Foreign Reserves Drop Over $1B in 18 Days Despite Central Bank Interventions to Prop Up Naira

Nigeria's foreign reserves have fallen by $1.02 billion in the past 18 days despite central bank efforts to strengthen the local currency
The drop reflects the central bank's aggressive push to support the naira through dollar sales to maintain FX liquidity
Prior to the decline, reserves had been growing steadily, peaking after a 43-day spike from February to March
The increase was due to higher diaspora remittances and foreign investments
IMF projects Nigeria's reserves could fall further to $24 billion by 2024 due to Eurobond repayments and portfolio outflows