As the country’s refineries continue to sit idle, fuel imports remain a
major user of foreign exchange, even as many businesses still lament the
inability to access forex at the official rate. The nation’s forex reserves have been on a downward trend in recent months, falling to a low of $39.77bn on February 15, 2022 from $40.54bn at the end of last year. The CBN’s data on sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for forex revealed that $45.76m was utilised in January 2021 for fuel imports; $64.67m in February, and $142.31m in March. Forex for fuel import transactions fell to $77.96m in April and $85.64m in May but rose to $86.42m in June. The country utilised $83.73m in July and $103.70m in August for petroleum products importation. The apex bank said $66.66m was used for fuel imports in September, $74.01m in October, $82.65m in November and $131.25m in December.