Latest data on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website on Monday showed that currency-in-circulation rose by N188.818bn or 11.2% to N1.873tr in the month of June from N1.684tr in the corresponding period of last year.
Currency in circulation is defined as the total value of currency (coins and paper) issued by a central bank, in this case the CBN, minus the amount that has been removed through the regular sale of treasury bills to mop up cash from the system, depending on its measurement of liquidity.
On a month-on-month basis however, the figure represented a N24.374bn or 1.28% drop from the N1.897tr in May; while Year-to-date, Nigeria’s currency-in-circulation dropped by N305.631bn or 14.02% from N2.179tr recorded during the festive period for which December.
Apart from the month of March, when the figure rose by N4.747tr or 0.23% to N1.983tr, the figure has dropped on a monthly basis.