us $ 1 at the i & e window particularly since the discontinuation of fx allocation to bureau de change operators along with the convergence between the cbn and nafex rates. banks are now able to meet the demands of their customers seeking forex for smes, school fees, medical and ptas, which has reduced the need of customers to rely on alternative providers of foreign exchange. average daily fx turnover at the i & e window is now over $ 250million, up from $ 40million in april 2020. 32. our current account deficit has narrowed significantly, from a huge deficit of 4. 53 % of gdp in the 4th quarter of 2020 to negative 0. 44 % of gdp in the 2nd quarter of 2021 due to a surplus position in the goods account. the surplus position in the goods account is due to a reduction in imports, increase in crude oil and gas export receipts, and improvement in remittance inflows. remittance inflows have been supported by our naira for dollar program, and we have seen a surge in remittance inflows from over $ 5m per week in june 2020 to over $ 100m per week in october 2021. outlook 33. following the impact of the various accommodative policy measures, our economy made a swift exit from the recession. unlike the five quarters it took to exit the previous recession, the economy rebounded after just two quarters of contractions, underpinning the resilience of the economy amid greater policy support. i am pleased to note that growth has returned to pre - covid levels due to the accommodative policy support provided by the monetary and fiscal authorities. 34. although uncertainties remain around the mutating delta virus, prospects of a broadbased economic recovery in nigeria remain bright as efforts are made to improve access to vaccines for nigerians, in addition to measures aimed at implementing safety protocols to curb the spread of the virus. 35. as a result of these growth enhancing policy measures, we project that gdp will grow at 3. 0 percent for 2021 up from - 1. 8 percent in 2020. inflation is expected to continue on its downward trajectory into 2022 as continued interventions along with the onset of the harvest season aid improved supply of food items, which would further help to decelerate inflationary pressures. policy focus in 2022 36. i would like to state that notwithstanding these positive indicators, our economic growth remains fragile, as

e window. supply was also affected by massive outflow of foreign portfolio investments from emerging and frontier markets including nigeria in 2020. a combination of these factors led to a marked drop in our foreign reserves from nearly $ 36. 7bn at the beginning of the crises in march 2020, to a low of $ 32. 9bn in june 2021. it is important to state that the volume of activities at the i & e window fell from nearly $ 250 - 300 million daily to less than $ 40 million in the first quarter of 2021. supply disruptions and inflation 18. third, the imposition of containment measures as well as the rising cost of imported goods due to supply disruptions helped to aggravate inflationary pressures in the 2nd half of 2020. our inflation rate rose from 12. 12 percent in january 2020 to 18. 17 percent in march 2021. part of the rise in inflation was due to the surge in demand that arose from the easing of restrictions on movements, which led to a growing disparity between demand orders and output from factories and farms, not only in nigeria but in other parts of the world. heightened demand along with adjustments in the exchange rate, farmer herder clashes, imported inflation, insecurity in parts of the food belt region, and rising transportation cost, were some of the other key factors that drove the rise in inflation. 19. consequently, the pandemic and its attendant effects re - ordered the paths of our key macroeconomic and financial indicators after the gains we had achieved following the impact of the 2015 - 2017 oil price crisis. as a result of these effects the nigerian economy fell into a second recession in four years, in the 3rd quarter of 2020. 20. however, the banking sector remained robust and sound due to prompt response by the central bank in order to prevent an economic crisis from spilling over into a financial crisis. as result, the banking sector continued to consolidate on the gains of the recovery from the 2016 & 2017 recession. although we saw some fragilities in the system, they constituted limited risks. prudential indicators such as npls stood at 5. 4 percent in november 2021, while the car remained above 15 percent indicating continued resilience of our banking system. response of the monetary authorities 21. the impact of the covid - 19 pandemic provided many lessons that has helped to shape subsequent actions by the monetary policy authorities. for example, we realized how vulnerable our economy was relative to advanced markets in not only access