The United States spent $578.78m on crude oil imports from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2026, down from $681.40m in the corresponding period of 2025, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The latest figures, contained in the agencies’ March 2026 international trade report, show that the value of U.S. imports of Nigerian crude oil on a Cost, Insurance and Freight basis stood at $578.78m year-to-date, down by $102.62m or 15.06 per cent from the $681.40m recorded in the same period of 2025.
This comes despite Nigeria maintaining a steady position among key African crude suppliers to the United States, even as overall trade dynamics shifted.
A breakdown of the data shows that the U.S. imported 7.84 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria in the first three months of 2026, compared to 8.44 million barrels in the same period of 2025. This represents a decline of 0.59 million barrels or 7.03 per cent year-on-year.
On a monthly basis, U.S. imports from Nigeria dropped sharply between February and March 2026. In February 2026, imports stood at 4.64 million barrels before falling to 1.54 million barrels in March, indicating weaker short-term demand or supply adjustments.
In value terms, the CIF value of Nigerian crude imports also declined month-on-month from $345.33m in February 2026 to $114.49m in March 2026.
The customs value data, which excludes freight and insurance costs, followed a similar pattern. Year-to-date customs value for Nigerian crude stood at $561.69m in 2026, compared to $663.79m in 2025, reflecting a drop of $102.10m or 15.38 per cent.
