The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that Nigeria’s economic growth slowed in October as the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose slightly but remained below the 50-index point benchmark.
This was contained in a report on the recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which noted the continued moderation in headline inflation (year-on-year) to 15.99 percent in October from 16.63 percent in the previous month, the seventh consecutive month of decline.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said, “The committee also noted the continued improvement in the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, which though remained below the 50-index point benchmark, rose to 47.3 index points in October 2021 from 46.6 index points in September 2021.
“This improvement indicated a gradual recovery of output growth, driven largely by the increase in new orders associated with rising aggregate demand and upswing in business activities.
“The Non-Manufacturing PMI, however, declined to 47.5 index points in October 2021 from 47.8 index points in September 2021 as uncertainties persisted around the poor security situation.”
He said the decrease was attributed to a marginal decline in both the food and core components to 18.34 and 13.34 percent respectively in October 2021 from 19.57 and 13.74 percent in September 2021.
Inflation, however, remained above the bank’s implicit tolerance corridor of six to nine percent and above its benchmark policy rate of 11.5 percent, despite its progressive decline.
The CBN said observing developments in monetary aggregates, the committee noted that broad money supply grew by 7.10 percent in October, compared with 4.72 percent in September driven by growth in net domestic assets by 9.12 percent in October, compared to 10.71 percent recorded in September.
According to the report, net foreign assets, on the other hand, contracted moderately by -1.50 percent in October, compared with -20.85 percent in the preceding month as the continued growth in net domestic assets was largely driven by increased claims on the Federal Government and other public nonfinancial corporations, private sector, and state and local governments.
