The Apex bank of Nigeria, CBN reveals that currency outside bank rose to N2.26n at the end of June 2023, according to the latest figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Currency in circulation refers to all legal tender currency held by the general public and kept within the Deposit Money Banks, excluding currency held in the vaults of the Central Bank.
Based on data from the CBN, the currency outside banks witnessed a significant increase of 185.68 per cent, surging from N792.18 billion in January 2023 to N2.26 trillion in June 2023.
It is gathered that the currency in circulation in the country rose by 87.05 per cent (N1.21tn), from N1.39tn in January 2023 to N2.6tn in June 2023.
Prior to that, there was a notable dip of 235.03 per cent in the currency outside banks, dropping from N3.29 trillion at the end of October 2022 to N982.09 billion at the end of February. This decline was attributed to the naira redesign policy implemented by the CBN.
Figures obtained from the CBN revealed that N2.3tn was mopped up from circulation during the period under review.
“Currency-in-circulation is defined as currency outside the vaults of the central bank; that is, all legal tender currencies in the hands of the public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money Banks,” according to CBN.
The CBN stated that it employed the ‘accounting/statistical/withdrawals and deposits approach’ to compute the currency in circulation in Nigeria.