Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - The Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest Balance of Payments (BoP) report has indicated that Nigeria posted a current account surplus of $3.42 billion in the third quarter of 2025, down 41.14% from the $5.81 billion recorded in Q2 2025.
The CBN report noted that surplus was also lower than the
$5.78 billion posted in Q3 2024, reflecting rising external obligations despite
stronger oil-sector earnings.
The report read, “Provisional balance of payments (BOP)
statistics for Q3 2025 show a current account surplus of US$3.42 billion, which
was lower than the US$5.81 billion and US$5.78 billion recorded in the
preceding quarter (Q2 2025) and corresponding period of 2024,
respectively.”
The current account remained in surplus mainly because
export receipts strengthened during the quarter. Total exports increased to
$15.24 billion in Q3 2025, compared with $14.90 billion in Q2 2025, driven
largely by crude oil and refined-product exports.
Crude oil export earnings rose by 10.31% to $8.45 billion,
while refined petroleum product exports soared 44.03% to $2.29 billion. Gas
exports, however, declined 30.21% to $2.31 billion, and non-oil exports fell to
$2.19 billion from $2.34 billion in the previous quarter.
Imports also rose, with total imports climbing to $10.30
billion from $9.61 billion in Q2 2025. A key development during the quarter was
the continued decline in fuel imports.
Refined petroleum product imports dropped 12.70% to $1.65
billion, signalling Nigeria’s gradual transition toward being a net exporter of
refined products. Non-oil imports rose to $7.08 billion from $6.68 billion.
Despite the import increase, the goods account stayed in
surplus at $4.94 billion, slightly below the $5.28 billion surplus in Q2 2025,
but well above the $3.93 billion recorded in Q3 2024. The CBN noted that the
improvement in crude and refined-product exports helped sustain the positive
goods balance through the period.
Remittances hold firm as services and investment outflows
rise, while foreign exchange inflows through the secondary income account,
particularly diaspora remittances, remained strong.
The account recorded $5.50 billion in Q3 2025, only slightly
lower than the $5.51 billion posted in Q2 2025. Within this segment, workers’
remittances declined marginally to previous quarter. 5.24 billion from
$5.30 billion in the
However, these inflows were offset by higher outflows on
services and primary income. Net services payments widened to -$4.07 billion,
compared with – $3.74 billion in Q2 2025. The increase was linked to higher
spending on transport, travel, insurance, ICT-related services and government
services.
The primary income account also deteriorated sharply to a
net debit of $2.95 billion, up from $1.25 billion in Q2 2025.
According to the CBN, this was largely due to repatriation
of reinvested earnings by domestic banks on their foreign investments, showing
the continued impact of profit and dividend payments on Nigeria’s external
earnings position.
Financial account swings to surplus as reserves climb to
$42.77 billion
Nigeria’s financial account recorded a net lending position
of $0.32 billion in Q3 2025, a dramatic turnaround from the net borrowing of
$6.90 billion in Q2 2025. This means the economy accumulated more external
financial assets — including reserve assets — than it received from foreign
investment inflows.
Portfolio investment inflows fell to $2.51 billion from
$5.28 billion in Q2 2025, reflecting lower foreign participation in domestic
securities than in the previous quarter.
In contrast, foreign direct investment inflows rose sharply
to $0.72 billion, up from $0.09 billion in Q2 2025.
Other investment liabilities amounted to $0.84 billion,
while Nigerian investments abroad showed reversals and outflows across direct,
portfolio and other investment assets.
The overall balance of payments returned to a surplus of
$4.60 billion in Q3 2025, compared with a deficit of $0.27 billion in Q2
2025.
At the same time, external reserves increased significantly
to $42.77 billion as at end-September 2025, up from $37.81 billion as at end-
June 2025.
Net Errors and Omissions also narrowed to – $3.09 billion,
from – $12.71 billion in the previous quarter, indicating reduced unrecorded
transactions.
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