Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
March 3, 2016
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 10)
Nigerias inflation rate remained above
CBNs bandwidth of 6-9 per cent. Specifically, the inflation rate increased
slightly from 9.55 percent in December 2015 to 9.62 percent in January 20165.
The Core sub-index remains the main driver of inflation in Nigeria. The higher
prices of items in the Core sub-index such as clothing and foot wears are
reflective of higher domestic production costs as a result of the decline in the
value of the naira relative to the dollar. However, in the period, the price
increase was moderated by the stable price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Going
forward, without any sustainable policy measure to prevent the further
depreciation of the naira, inflation may exceed the current single digit
inflation rate in the near term.
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 46)
The
Executive council recently approved a three-year external borrowing plan
(2016-2018) which specifies external borrowing of approximately $30 billion (to
be sourced mostly from MDBs) for infrastructure development.
Although, the plan is yet to be approved by the Senate, the planned concessional
loans for infrastructural development would imply inflows of foreign exchange which
could help moderate the exchange rate volatilities in the near term, and offer
potential improvement in business productivity and job creation.