By Chinwendu Obienyi
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has projected that the economy will continue to recover moderately by 2.66 per cent at the end of 2023.
The apex bank stated this Communique no 149 of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which held recently in Abuja.
Acting Governor, CBN, Folashodun Shonubi, stated that although the overall outlook for the recovery of both the global and domestic economies moderated, uncertainties however remain.
He noted that at the global 5 Classified as Confidential level, legacy headwinds such as the war in Ukraine and slow recovery of the Chinese economy as well as ongoing bricsification are key downside risks to output growth.
According to him, factors precipitating the uncertainties remain the continued insecurity, particularly in farming communities; high prices of PMS and other energy products; as well as pressure in the foreign exchange market.
He said, “Forecasts for key macroeconomic indicators for the Nigerian economy indicate that the economy will continue to recover moderately through 2023 to grow by 2.66 per cent (CBN), 4.20 per cent (FGN) and 3.20 per cent (IMF)”.
The CBN Acting Governor revealed that Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) remained stable and strong in the banking system while the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 11.2 per cent, Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) ratio of 4.1 per cent and Liquidity Ratio (LR) of 48.4 per cent, as at end June 2023.
Shonubi said, “In the financial market, equities remained bullish through the review period, with the All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalization (MC) increased to 60,968.27 index points and N33.20 trillion, respectively, on June 30, 2023, compared with 51,251.06 index points and N27.92 trillion as at December 30, 2022.
This indicates continued investor confidence in the Nigerian market as investors foresee a more stable macroeconomic environment once the current policies of the Bank and Federal Government fully permeate the economy. Gross external reserves improved marginally to US$33.97 billion as at July 20, 2023, from US$33.75 billion in June 2023, as accretion to external reserves remains weak while foreign exchange demand pressures persist”.