Chamwe Kaira
Namibia’s stock of international reserves fell to N$54.7 billion in September as government foreign payments reduced the country’s foreign assets, data from the Bank of Namibia shows.
The figure represents a 4.1% month-on-month decline, translating into 3.6 months of import cover.
When oil exploration and appraisal activities are excluded, import cover improved slightly to four months, the central bank said.
The banking industry’s overall cash position also weakened to N$7.3 billion in September, down from an average of N$8.1 billion in August, mainly due to cross-border payments.
Mortgage credit contracted by 0.3% in September after a marginal growth of 0.1% in August, reflecting continued weakness in business credit for the 11th straight month and sluggish household demand. Household mortgage growth slowed to 0.6%.
Instalment sales and leasing credit, however, increased by 18.8% year-on-year in September compared to 17.5% in August.
Higher demand from businesses and households drove the growth, coinciding with a surge in new vehicle sales.
Other loans and advances rose to 10.3% in September from 9.4% in August, supported by stronger household borrowing. Overdraft credit growth slowed to 10.5% from 13%, reflecting repayments by corporates.
Household overdrafts remained in contraction for the ninth month, showing weak consumer demand for short-term borrowing.
Credit extended to businesses grew by 9.5% in September, down from 10.3% in August. The slowdown resulted from repayments by firms in the mining, manufacturing, and fishing sectors, particularly in overdrafts and other loan categories.
On the deposit side, long-term deposits increased by 14.6% in September, up from 12.2% in August, supported by inflows from financial and non-financial corporations. Currency outside banks slowed to 7.7% from 10.7%, while transferable deposits eased to 7% from 8.4%, reflecting lower holdings by public and other resident sectors.
Overall, broad money supply (M2) rose by 10.3% year-on-year in September, slightly up from 10.2% in August.
The increase was supported by higher net foreign assets of depository corporations and modest growth in domestic claims.
Caption
The Bank of Namibia’s reserves fell to N$54.7 billion in September.
