Photograph — Bloomberg

Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has maintained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) – also called interest rate – at 13.50 percent, while other parameters remain unchanged. The decisions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) committee were arrived at during a meeting in Abuja.

At the end of the two-day MPC session on Tuesday, July 24, 2019, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, read the communique which revealed that the decision to hold all rates constant was informed by the conviction of members that key macroeconomic indicators are trending in the right direction. Read more here.

Below is the Ventures Africa Weekly Economic Index, for the week ending 26th of July, 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

Data released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as of 26th July 2019, showed that the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalization both depreciated by 0.003 percent to close the week at 27,918.59 and N13.606 trillion respectively. All other indices, however, finished higher with the exception of NSE-Main Board, NSE Banking, NSE Pension, NSE Insurance, NSE AFR Div Yield, and NSE Oil/Gas indices.

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

Top five price gainers

NPF Microfinance Bank Plc.

B.O.C. Gases Plc.

Lafarge Africa Plc. 

Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc. 

Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc.

Top five price decliners

Linkage Assurance Plc.

International Breweries Plc. 

Forte Oil Plc. 

Caverton Offshore Support Grp Plc.

Nascon Allied Industries Plc.

How did the Naira fare?

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

The Naira’s value appreciated against the dollar last week as it closed at 361 Naira per dollar on the 26th of July 2019, slightly lower than N362 per dollar it had recorded a week before.

How did the price of oil fare?

Brent oil prices closed out the week on the 26th of July 2019 at $62.30 per barrel, up from around $61.18 recorded a week ago. Oil prices are expected to rise in the coming weeks as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the United States (U.S.) Federal Reserve mull interest rate cuts amid a slowing global economy.

The effect of policy loosening via rate cuts on oil tends to be bullish, particularly when the U.S. Fed cuts rates. This is because oil is priced in dollars, so as monetary easing from the Fed weakens the dollar, it makes oil more affordable around the world. The result is higher demand and upward pressure on oil prices.

Elsewhere on Ventures

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