LAGOS — Nigeria’s current account surplus jumped 255.71% quarter-on-quarter to $4.98 billion in the first quarter of 2026, driven by a dramatic collapse in refined petroleum imports, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistics show.
The surplus rose from $1.40 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing a significant turnaround for Africa’s largest economy as domestic refining capacity heavily displaced foreign fuel dependencies.
The external balance looks even stronger compared to the first quarter of 2025, when the country recorded a lower current account surplus of $3.41 billion, according to provisional balance of payments data.
The primary catalyst for the expansion was the goods account surplus, which surged 236.16% to $5.95 billion from $1.77 billion in the previous quarter, bolstered by steady crude oil and gas revenues.
Crucially, Nigeria’s refined petroleum imports plummeted by 87.50% to $0.31 billion in the first quarter, down from $2.48 billion in the final three months of 2025, rewriting traditional trade dynamics.
Crude oil export earnings climbed nearly 20% to $8.11 billion from $6.77 billion in the preceding quarter, while gas exports rose 12.95% to $2.53 billion, reinforcing top-line trade growth.
Away from Q1 2026, supply disruption in the Middle-East has continued to bolster Nigeria’s oil earnings; with net windfall of over $6.51 billion (approximately N9.77 trillion) above the federal government’s 2026 national budget, between February to May 2026.
However, The CBN noted that the sharp drop in fuel imports follows the full commercial scaling of local mega-refineries, (particularly the Dangote refinery) which have systematically reduced the nation’s historical reliance on imported petrol and conserved scarce foreign exchange.
Higher trade receipts helped push Nigeria’s gross external reserves up to $48.35 billion at the end of March 2026, compared to $45.75 billion recorded at the close of December 2025.
However, the services account deficit widened to $3.71 billion from $3.32 billion, while diaspora remittances moderated slightly to $5.30 billion from $5.72 billion in the previous quarter.
“The increase in net out payments for services was largely due to increases in net debits in travel and other business services.” CBN noted.
Net errors and omissions also widened to negative $7.49 billion, indicating that substantial unrecorded capital outflows continue to mask the full extent of the country’s formal trade recovery.
