Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
May 10, 2017
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 17)
Activities
in the manufacturing sector remained at levels recorded in 2016Q3.
Specifically, manufacturing capacity utilization (a measure of potential
manufacturing output that is actually realized) remained at 48.46 percent in
2016Q4 below average. During the quarter, structural bottlenecks
such as epileptic power supply (average of 2, 548 Megawatts) in
addition to forex constraints, hampered manufacturing activities. As such, high
cost of raw materials and cost of production subdued activities in the short
term. Recent efforts by the monetary authority to increase forex access to the
manufacturing sector as well as improvement in gas supply and electricity
generation would help minimize production costs and enhance production process.
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 45)
Recently
released report by Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative (NEITI)shows a significant decline in revenue
allocation across the three tiers of government for 2016H1 (January to June). Specifically, total disbursements dropped
(year-on-year) by 30.45 percent to N2.01 trillion in 2016H1. The
drop in revenue allocations is accountable to the decline in both oil and
non-oil revenue. While lower oil revenue was triggered by the drastic fall in
oil price and production in 2016H1, lower non-oil revenue was driven by the decline
in tax revenue occasioned by contraction in economic activities in the review
half-year.
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 37)
Recent
data by the CBN shows a decline in manufacturing capacity utilization by 2.0
percentage points to 50.7 percent in 2016Q2. Foreign exchange
challenges in addition to cash squeeze in the review quarter, led to the
decline in capacity utilization. This has hindered activities in the sector
while impacting negatively on business confidence. Nonetheless, the CBN
recently directed authorized FX dealers to dedicate 60 percent of FX purchases
to manufacturers. This policy measure is therefore expected to meet
the sectors critical FX need for the purchase of imported raw material and
other machineries, while boosting the potential for economic growth in the long
term.