The National Bureau of Statistics has said that Nigeria’s capital imports plunged 78.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, to $1.295bn, as lower oil prices persist.
According to the report, Nigeria has suffered its worst crisis in decades, as low oil prices triggered by the Coronavirus Disease caused the economy to shrink in the second quarter, slashing government revenues and weakening the naira.
However, the government expects further Gross Domestic Product contractions in the third and fourth quarters.
Nigeria has seen an exodus of foreign money in its equity and debt market, though foreign investors have been caught up by shortage of dollars, as global oil prices collapsed.
“The largest amount of capital importation by type was received through other investment. followed by portfolio investment. and foreign direct investment in Q2,” the report said.
Nigeria’s capital imports fell from a peak of $21.32bn seven years ago to $5.12bn in 2016 as investment dried up in the wake of a recession.
A foreign exchange shortage has seen the naira drop to record lows in the black market in recent months after two devaluations and the Central Bank of Nigeria moves to unify the country’s multiple exchange rates.
