Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
October 6, 2016
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 42)
The
NSE market indices recorded a bear market rally for the third consecutive week
in September. Specifically, All-share index and Market Capitalization increased
marginally by 0.31 percent to close at 28,335.40 points and N9.73 trillion
respectively on September 30, 2016. Major drivers of the rally include;
increased trade-volume of financial, agricultural and consumer-goods
securities. The continued rise in market indices may be connected to a
sustained investor confidence in the agricultural and financial sectors on the
account of the ongoing activities of the government and the CBN to stabilize
the sectors.
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 9)
The naira depreciated by 8.2 percent from
N305/$ on February 5th, to N330/ $ on February 12th 20166. The apex body identified the
increased domestic demand for forex to pay for foreign medical treatments and
schools fees (15 percent of total demand) 7 as the main drivers. As
a result, the apex bank is considering to discontinue the provision of forex for
payment of medical bills and school fees abroad and to re-channel the forex
towards the manufacturing sector of the economy. With the continuous
depreciation of the naira, and the CBNs resistance from calls to devalue the
currency, the options for alternatives measures seem to be diminishing.
Africa Economic Update (Issue 2)
Business activities in Africa
slightly improved in February 2017 albeit at a slow rate. Sales Managers Index
(SMI) for Africa an assessment of business condition in Pan-African Economy
increased by 0.4 index points from 52.2 points in January 2017 to 52.6 points
in February 2017. Sub-Saharan African countries experienced better
business activities than North Africa in the review period. The two largest
economies in the region, Nigeria (48.5 index points) and South Africa (49.2
Index points) registered contraction in the review period as Nigeria remained
in recession while high unemployment remained a problem in South Africa. The
growth in SMI recorded in the review period is driven by improvement in
business confidence and sales price which outweighed the fall in other
components market growth, sales output and staffing level.