Nigeria’s oil sector utilised $2.15bn in foreign exchange between January and June 2026, representing an 18.7 per cent decline from the amount recorded during the same period last year, according to Central Bank of Nigeria data.
Figures from the CBN’s second-quarter 2026 Statistical Bulletin showed that forex utilisation by the sector fell from $2.64bn in the first half of 2025 to approximately $2.15bn in the corresponding period of 2026.
The reduction amounted to about $494.47m, although demand for foreign currency strengthened in the second quarter, particularly in June.
Oil-sector forex utilisation rose from $899.29m in the first quarter to $1.25bn between April and June, representing a 38.9 per cent increase.
June recorded the highest monthly utilisation during the six-month period, at $559.79m. This was 47.2 per cent above the $380.41m recorded in May and 13.8 per cent higher than the $492.12m spent in June 2025.
The figures indicate that the sector’s foreign exchange requirements recovered towards the middle of the year after substantial reductions in the opening months.
In January, oil-sector forex utilisation stood at $381.91m, down 16.6 per cent from $457.83m recorded a year earlier.
February recorded $283.32m, almost unchanged from the $283.54m utilised in the same month of 2025.
The sharpest annual decline occurred in March, when utilisation dropped by 54.8 per cent to $234.06m from $517.55m in the corresponding month last year.
Demand remained below the previous year’s levels in April and May. Utilisation stood at $308.66m in April, compared with $423.12m in April 2025, while May recorded $380.41m against $468.47m a year earlier.
However, June reversed the trend, with monthly forex utilisation exceeding the level recorded in the same month of 2025.
Quarterly figures showed that oil-sector utilisation fell by 28.6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, from $1.26bn to $899.29m.
In the second quarter, utilisation reached $1.25bn, remaining 9.7 per cent below the $1.38bn recorded between April and June 2025.
Despite the overall decline in the first half of 2026, the rise in second-quarter spending points to stronger foreign exchange demand from the oil sector as the year progressed.
