Nigeria, Feb. 24 -- Despite oil price rally, Nigeria's foreign reserves fell by $1.2 billion between January 25 and February 22.

The reserves rose to $36.5 billion on January 25th and fell to $35.3 billion on February 22nd when it was last updated, checks by PREMIUM TIMES showed Wednesday afternoon.

This means that the reserves recorded a 3.27 per cent fall within the period under review.

Before recording a gradual slump, the reserves had peaked at $36.5 billion from $35.4 billion at the start of the new year. The rise followed an upward trend in the reserve figures, a pattern that began mid-December 2020, buoyed by a steady rise in oil prices in the international market.

It was unclear why the reserves fell at a time of rising crude ...