Chamwe Kaira
The Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) stock of international reserves fell by 1.9% in August to N$57 billion.
The central bank attributed the decline to increased government foreign payments and withdrawals of customer foreign currency by commercial banks.
“This level of international reserves translates into 3.7 months of import cover, whereas the import cover excluding oil exploration and appraisal activities stood at 4.2 months,” BoN said.
Broad money supply (M2) growth slowed to 10.2% in August from 10.4% the previous month.
“The slight decrease in M2 growth was underpinned by the slowdown in the growth rate of domestic claims of the depository corporations, specifically the net claims on the central government,” the bank said.
Growth in currency outside depository corporations dropped to 10.7% from 12.8% in July.
Growth in other deposits also slowed to 12.2% from 12.8%, largely due to lower long-term deposits held by other financial corporations. Transferable deposits growth remained unchanged at 8.4%.
Private sector credit extension (PSCE) increased slightly to 5.8% in August from 5.7% in July.
The central bank said the rise was supported by higher business and household credit, especially in loans, advances, and instalments and leasing.
Credit extended to businesses rose to 10.3% from 10.1% in July, mainly from corporates in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing.
Household credit increased to 2.8% from 2.7%.
Overdraft lending growth slowed to 13% in August from 14.9% in July, with repayments from corporates in manufacturing, financial, and agricultural sectors contributing to the decline.
Mortgage credit recorded slight growth of 0.1% in August compared to zero growth in July.
New vehicle sales rose sharply, with annual growth reaching 26.7% in August compared to 11.7% in July.
A total of 1 261 vehicles were sold, up from 995 in the same period last year, boosted by both commercial and passenger vehicle demand.
The banking industry’s cash balances increased to N$8.1 billion in August from N$5.8 billion in July, driven mainly by proceeds from diamond sales.
Caption
Government foreign payments contributed to the decline in foreign reserves.
- Photo: Contributed
