Economy
Nigeria’s Economy Gathers More Momentum

By FSDH Research
A review of the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the month of April 2017 suggests that the Nigerian economy is on the way out of recession.
However, we believe more policies are required to achieve sustainable growth. The PMI report shows that the Composite Manufacturing Index (CMI) expanded for the first time in the year 2017 and attained the highest level so far in the year 2017.
The CMI increased to 51.1points in April 2017 from 47.7 points in March 2017. Although the Composite Non-Manufacturing Index (CNMI) is slightly below 50 points level, it increased to 49.5 points in April 2017 from 47.1 points recorded in March 2017 to attain the highest level in 16 months.
This represents the first month-on-month (MoM) increase after 16 consecutive months of decline.
The PMI report also shows that the production level in the manufacturing sector expanded for the second consecutive month, increasing to 58.5 points in April 2017 from 50.8 points in March 2017. PMI below 50 points level suggests a decline in business activity, PMI higher than 50 points level suggests an expansion while PMI at the 50 point level suggests no change.
We believe the increase in PMI is sustainable in the short to medium-term provided policies that increase access to credit and create an enabling business environment are pursued.
The monetary aggregates in Nigeria as at March 2017 show that the annualised growth rate in the money supply is below the target the CBN sets for the year 2017.
In Nigeria, narrow money supply (M1) is the sum of demand deposits and currency in circulation less the cash currency held in deposit money banks’ vault.
Quasi money supply (QM) is the savings deposits plus time deposits. Broad money supply (M2) is the sum of M1 and QM (M2 = M1 + QM). The M2 decreased by 7.17% to N22trillion in March 2017 from N23.7trillion in December 2016.
The major drop is from M1 which dropped by 12.71% to N10trillion in March 2017 from N11.4trillion in December 2016. The QM also dropped marginally by 2.03% to N12.1trillion from N12.3trillion in December 2016. We attribute the drop in M1 to the drop in demand deposits which in turn can be linked to a drop in private sector deposits with the CBN.
Demand deposits dropped by 13.46% to N8.3trillion in March 2017 from N9.6trillion in December 2016. Private sector deposits dropped by 36.68% to N2.1trillion in March 2017 from N3.4trillion in December 2016. The CBN’s growth target for M2 in 2017 is 10.29%, thus the contraction in Q1 2017 is at variance with the growth target for the year.
The efforts to combat high inflation rate, increase the supply of foreign exchange through foreign investment in the fixed income securities, and to sustain investment from the domestic investors, are responsible for the drop in money supply in Q1 2017. Net domestic credit increased marginally by 1.17% to N27.45trillion in March 2017 from N27.15trillion in December 2016, much lower than the growth target of 17.93% for 2017. The annualised growth rate in net domestic credit in Q1 2017 is 4.7%, also significantly below the target growth rate of 17.93% for 2017.
While net credit to the Federal Government increased in Q1 2017, the net credit to the private sector dropped. Net domestic credit to the Federal Government increased by 8.17% to N5.29trillion in March 2017 from N4.81trillion in December 2016 but the net domestic credit to private sector dropped by 0.33% to N22.27trillion in March 2017 from N22.35trillion in December 2017. Policies to increase money supply will be required when there is stability in the foreign exchange market and the inflation rate is moderated.
Source: FSDH Research
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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