By Samuel Akpan
Nigeria posted a balance of payments surplus of $2.38 billion in the first quarter of 2026, lower than the $2.67 billion recorded in the previous quarter, even as its current account surplus surged to nearly $5 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria has reported.
The balance of payments records all financial transactions between a country and the rest of the world. A surplus means the country received more money from exports, income, and financial inflows than it paid out during the period.
The Central Bank said the improvement in the current account was particularly strong.
“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,” the apex bank stated.
The rise in the current account was driven by increased earnings from crude oil, gas, and refined petroleum product exports, alongside a sharp reduction in imports of refined petroleum products.
Crude oil export earnings rose 19.8 percent to $8.11 billion in Q1 2026 from $6.77 billion in the previous quarter.
Gas exports increased by 13 percent to $2.53 billion, while refined petroleum product exports grew 20.3 percent to $2.37 billion.
Imports of refined petroleum products fell dramatically by 87.5 percent to $310 million from $2.48 billion in Q4 2025.
This helped push the goods account surplus to $5.95 billion, up from $1.77 billion in the preceding quarter.
Total exports rose to $15.49 billion in Q1 2026 from $13.36 billion in Q4 2025.
Non-oil exports also recorded a modest increase of 4.62 percent to $2.49 billion during the period.
On the import side, total imports declined to $9.54 billion from $11.59 billion in the previous quarter, largely due to the sharp drop in fuel imports.
However, crude oil imports surged 308.82 percent to $1.39 billion from $0.34 billion, while non-oil imports fell 10.49 percent to $7.85 billion.
The secondary income account, which mainly reflects diaspora remittances and personal transfers, decreased to $5.57 billion from $6.21 billion in Q4 2025.
The 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 previous quarter.
This was largely driven by portfolio investment inflows of $6.03 billion, which offset a slight decline in direct investment.
Nigeria’s external reserves also recorded strong growth, rising to $48.35 billion at the end of March 2026 from $45.75 billion at the end of December 2025.
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