Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
February 13, 2017
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 5)
The Naira continued to depreciate in the
review week. At the parallel market, naira exchanged for N498/$ on January 27,
2017 and N500/$ on February 3, 2017. Despite the weekly sales of forex to BDCs and
the significant improvements in the external reserves, the naira has continued
to lose value to other currencies. The pressure on the naira has been triggered
by escalating scarcity of forex in the spot market, likely due to
forex hoarding. However, in the preceding week, the CBN sold $660 million in forwards
contract in an attempt to manage liquidity and stabilize the naira.
In the face of growing speculation in the parallel market, the monetary
authority should institute mechanisms that would discourage excessive forex
hoarding among licensed BDC operators. An initiative that monitors transaction
dealings in the parallel market would go a long way in detecting erring BDC
operators.
Related
Tax Collected
Tax Collected: Tax revenue which has relatively maintained an upward trend, fell considerably in 2015 and dipped significantly in early 2016 on the account of economic downturn, as many businesses sev
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 21)
Recent
data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the value of
capital imported to Nigeria declined by 54.34 percent; from $1.56 billion
2015Q4to $710.97 million in 2016Q11. This is the lowest value since
the data was first released in 2007. Huge declines in Portfolio Investment
(71.54 percent) and other Investment (44.84 percent) were the major drivers of
the trend within the period. A myriad of factors have contributed to the
decline in investments. The plunge in crude oil prices, and the resultant negative
signals on investors confidence, was a key factor. This was exacerbated by the
FOREX restrictions and delays in the assentation of 2016 Appropriation Bill.
While the slight increases in oil prices and the recent signing of the budget
into law could improve the general economic prospects, monetary authorities need
to proffer solutions to the negative effects of the current FOREX restrictions
on investments.