Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
March 13, 2017
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 8)
The falling tide in the international value
of Naira experienced a reversal in the review week with naira appreciating
significantly by 11 percent from N516/$ on February 17, 2017 to N460/$ on
February 24, 2017 at the parallel market the first appreciation
since December 2016. The recent rise in naira value was driven by forex
supply-demand gap closure, sequel to improvements in dollar liquidity. The
recent CBN Special intervention (e.g. the auction and sale of $370 million and
$1.5 million respectively, by the apex bank during the week) and its
revised forex policy guidelinescontributed in dousing speculations
in the parallel market, thus gradually narrowing the margin between the
interbank and parallel market rates. Given that the sustainability of naira
appreciation is strongly hinged on the improvement in foreign reserve which is
largely dependent on crude oil sales, the government should continue its
efforts at calming tensions in the Niger Delta region.
Related
Nigeria Economic Review
The
global economy grew by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 (2016Q4)
relative to 2.5 percent in 2016Q3, due to rising investment and consumption
demands in developed and emerging economies as well as a rise in commodity
prices. However, over the entire year, global GDP growth stood at 2.6 percent in
2016, relative to the growth of 3.09 percent recorded in 2015. Notably, output grew
progressively in the US over the year, while the steady growth recorded in the
UK since the start of the year stalled in 2016Q4. Also, the declining growth
recorded in France since 2015 took a positive turn in 2016Q4, the rest of the
Eurozone witnessed a fall in output in the quarter. While emerging economies
recorded mixed experiences, many Sub-Saharan African countries showed signs of
recovery in the period.
Re-examining The Determinants Of Current Account Balance In An Oil-Rich Exporting Country
The paper examines the determinants of
current accounts balance in Nigeria with emphasis on oil-related variables.