Nigeria’s Current Account Surplus Rises to $7.54bn in Q2 2026

Nigeria’s current account surplus rose significantly to $7.54 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up from $4.49 billion in the first quarter, according to provisional balance of payments data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The latest figure represents a 67.9 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter and a 45.8 per cent rise compared with the $5.17 billion surplus recorded in the same period of 2025.

The improvement was mainly driven by stronger export earnings and increased remittance inflows.

Nigeria’s goods account surplus expanded to $10.12 billion in Q2, compared with $5.96 billion in Q1 and $4.85 billion in Q2 2025.

Total exports increased to $20.08 billion, up from $15.56 billion in the previous quarter. Crude oil exports rose by 15.78 per cent to $9.39 billion, while natural gas exports increased by 40.15 per cent to $3.63 billion.

Exports of refined petroleum products recorded the strongest growth, rising by 66.24 per cent to $3.94 billion during the quarter. The increase was linked by analysts to the growing contribution of the Dangote refinery.

Non-oil exports also increased by 25.30 per cent to $3.12 billion, indicating broader growth in Nigeria’s merchandise exports.

Meanwhile, crude oil imports fell sharply from $1.39 billion in Q1 to $580 million in Q2, further strengthening the country’s goods balance.

However, Nigeria recorded higher net outflows in services and primary income. The services account posted a net outflow of $4.67 billion, compared with $3.71 billion in Q1, while the primary income deficit widened to $4.20 billion from $3.23 billion.

The secondary income balance improved to $6.30 billion, up from $5.47 billion in Q1. Personal transfers, including remittances from Nigerians living abroad, increased by 9.81 per cent to $5.82 billion.

The financial account also improved during the quarter, recording a net lending position of $1.74 billion, compared with a net borrowing position of $2.03 billion in Q1.

Portfolio investment liabilities generated $7.09 billion in inflows, while foreign direct investment increased to $1.15 billion from $1.03 billion.

Despite the stronger inflows, Nigerian investments abroad resulted in outflows of $560 million in direct investment assets and $700 million in portfolio investment assets.