By Chibuzor Alli
Nigeria’s current account surplus rose to $7.54bn in the second quarter of 2026, increasing 67.9 per cent from $4.49bn in the first quarter as stronger export earnings and higher remittance inflows improved the country’s external position.
The latest figure was also 45.8 per cent higher than the $5.17bn surplus recorded in the second quarter of 2025, according to provisional balance of payments statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A current account surplus occurs when a country earns more from exports of goods, services and investments than it spends on imports from other countries, according to Investopedia.
Goods exports drive current account growth
The improvement in the second quarter was mainly driven by the goods account, whose surplus more than offset larger net outflows from services and primary income.
The goods account surplus increased to $10.12bn in Q2, compared with $5.96bn in Q1 and $4.85bn in the same quarter of 2025.
The increase reflected higher export receipts across several categories. Total exports climbed to $20.08bn during the quarter from $15.56bn in Q1.
Crude oil export earnings rose by 15.78 per cent to $9.39bn, while natural gas exports increased by 40.15 per cent to $3.63bn.
Refined petroleum products recorded the strongest growth among the major export categories, with receipts rising by 66.24 per cent to $3.94bn.
Analysts attributed the increase in refined petroleum product exports to the impact of the Dangote refinery.
Non-oil exports also recorded growth, rising by 25.30 per cent to $3.12bn. The increase points to broader growth in Nigeria’s merchandise expo
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