Foreign portfolio inflows into Nigeria rose by 18 per cent to 7.09 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2026, up from 6.03 billion dollars in the first quarter, as investors increased their holdings of long-term government debt securities.
The Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in its second-quarter 2026 Economic Report, attributing the increase mainly to higher investments in long-term general government debt securities.
The development contributed to a rise in Nigeria’s financial liabilities to 10.84 billion dollars from 8.36 billion dollars in the preceding quarter.
The report also showed that Nigeria’s net acquisition of financial assets increased to 12.58 billion dollars from 6.33 billion dollars, driven largely by higher foreign currency holdings and deposits, as well as increased reserve assets.
Consequently, the country’s financial account recorded net lending of 1.74 billion dollars, reversing the net borrowing position of 2.03 billion dollars recorded in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external debt stock rose to 54.52 billion dollars at the end of June 2026, from 51.90 billion dollars in March, representing an increase of 2.62 billion dollars.
The increase was attributed largely to a 1.5-billion-dollar Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank and additional multilateral loans, putting external debt at 16.67 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.
