More than N917 billion is currently in circulation across the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said at the weekend in Abuja. The figure pasted on the Web site of the bank indicates that as at May 30, the amount in circulation was N917 billion. The amount was N19 billion more than the N898 billion recorded in April.

The record also showed that there was a N19 billion increase in circulation between April and May.
Similarly, the N891 billion in circulation at the end of March represented an increase of N7 billion between March and April.

In February, the amount in circulation was N860 billion, while in January it was N867 billion, a decrease of N7 billion between January and February. In March, the bank released about N234 billion from the excess crude fund to the states and the second tranche of N234 billion in June.
CBN Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, had at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting expressed fears that the release of more cash into the economy could trigger inflation.
He, however, said that the apex bank would deploy monetary instruments to mop up excess cash in the economy.

The governor said inflation was still at single digit and that the year-in-year inflation rate stood at 8.2 per cent as at May.