Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves fell 15 percent to $34.57 billion by Oct 5 compared to $40.75 billion at the same time a year earlier, the central bank said on Thursday.

It said the reserves have been declining, shedding 7 percent from the middle of last month to the end of the month, as it tried to defend the local naira currency.

"The current external reserves level is still adequate and is expected to remain robust in view of the favorable outlook for oil prices and output," central bank governor Lamido Sanusi said at the last monetary policy meeting.

Forex reserves in Africa's top energy producer have been under pressure since last month with strong local demand for the U.S. dollar by gasoline and rice importers, leading to a depreciation of the naira currency.

The Nigerian naira last month fell to its lowest level in 13 months but has since firmed on support from the central bank.

Analysts say reserves can finance more than 12 months of imports in sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy, where more than 80 percent of the country's basic needs are sourced from abroad.

Read More: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5627933-146/nigerian_foreign_reserves_drops_to_34.csp

Thanks to Sanusi for destabilising the economy i hope by the end of the year we wont be at $20b in foreign reserves