Nigeria’s Central Bank said today that the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $33.4 billion as of Feb. 10, a drop of $1 billion over the previous 12 days, as the apex bank sold hard currency to try to defend a plunging naira. The local currency fell 2.03 percent yesterday triggering a halt in electronic trading for the first time ever. The Naira has fallen by over 30 percent in the last seven months, dragged down by the global fall in oil prices, and dampening investor confidence due to the elections.

Because Nigeria’s foreign exchange earning is 95 percent dependent on oil export earnings, it is being starved by the huge drop in crude prices and drenched by the massive spending to prop up the struggling Naira. The Central Bank’s efforts to defend the currency has seen it spend over $9 billion, but the pressure has remained with the currency currently at the record low of 204.10 to a dollar. In November last year, the apex bank devalued the Naira by 8 percent and also hiked its interest rate by a 100 basis point to a record 13 percent, all these with little success in stemming the downward spiral of the local currency.

The postponement of Nigeria’s election has wasted little time in inflicting more damage to the country’s already suffering economy. Nigerian equities reportedly lost over $2bn between Monday and Tuesday, February 9 and 10 respectively. Nigeria’s economy, albeit Africa’s largest, could tumble further with a hike in political tension, which the postponement of the elections has a high potential of doing.

Foreign investors sold off Nigerian stocks valued at 846.5 billion naira ($4.5 billion) last year, according to stock exchange data. The shares sell off, 65 percent more than in 2013, was impacted on by the 2015 election tension as investors are unsure about keeping their funds in a volatile market. The government’s reviewed 2015 budget, 23 percent less than the first draft, has one of the  lowest capital spend ever at 8.2 percent.