Photograph — Bloomberg

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week increased the Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR) for commercial banks to 65 percent with a compliance deadline of December 31, 2019. This follows an initial directive in July that mandated banks to lend up to 60 percent of their customer deposits with a September 30 ultimatum.

The banking regulator, in a circular, addressed to all deposit money banks (DMBs) in the country, explained that its decision to review the LDR was based on the “appreciable growth in the level of the industry gross credit” after the initial policy was introduced. More details here.

Below is the Ventures Africa Weekly Economic Index, for the week ending 4th of October 2019. This economic index gives you a glimpse into other recent activities in Nigeria’s economy as well as changes and prices that could affect the economy:

Nigerian Stock Exchange

Nigerian Stock Exchange

Data released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as of October 4, 2019, showed that the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalization both depreciated by 2.48 percent to close the week at 26,987.45 and N13.137 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of NSE Insurance and NSE Industrial Goods Indices while the NSE ASeM index closed flat.

Top five price gainers and decliners in the week under review:

Top five price gainers

Continental Reinsurance Plc.

Law Union And Rock Ins. Plc.

Niger Insurance Plc.

CAP Plc.

Caverton Offshore Support Grp Plc.

Top five price decliners

Fidson Healthcare Plc.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

UACN Plc.

Africa Prudential Plc.

Beta Glass Plc.

How did the Naira fare?

Nigeria's-Inflation-rate
Picture credit:  PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images

The Naira depreciated against the dollar at the close of last week. The exchange rate slid to 363 Naira per dollar on the 4th of October 2019, slightly lower than 362 recorded a week before.

How did the price of oil fare?

Brent oil prices closed out the week on the 4th of October 2019 at $60.02 per barrel, a notable decrease from the $63.37 recorded a week earlier. Oil prices have been on a weekly downward trend since rising almost 12 percent after the attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure last month. Meanwhile, Nigeria plans to cut its daily oil production to 1.77 million barrels based on a decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and allies to halt the fall in global oil prices.

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