The Bank of Namibia’s stock of international reserves declined marginally by 0,7% month-month to N$55,4 billion at the end of February.
The fall was on the back of higher net commercial bank outflows coupled with government payments. The foreign reserves translated into 3,9 months of import cover, continuing to remain above the international benchmark of three months and adequate to support the Namibia dollar and the South African rand currency peg.
Notably, the import cover excluding imports of oil exploration and appraisal activities stood at 4,4 months at the end of February, relative to the 4,5 months recorded at the end of January.
In February, growth in money supply (M2) slightly rose. M2 growth rose slightly to 10,3% at the end of February relative to a growth of 10% in January 2024.
The annual growth in Private Sector Credit Extension slowed to 1,7%, year-on-year in February compared to a growth rate of 2,4% at the end of January.
Growth in credit extended to businesses slowed to 0,6% in February, compared to 2,1% recorded in January. The decrease in the growth of credit advanced to businesses was on account of a lower demand by corporates in the mining, fishing, wholesale and retail trade and transport sectors.
The annual growth in credit extended to households slowed to 2,4% at the end of February from 2,6% reported in January.
The slower growth in credit extended to households stemmed from lower demand for overdraft and mortgage credit as well as other loans and advances during the period under review.
The annual growth in instalment sales and leasing credit edged up month-on-month to 13% in February relative to 12.9% at the end of January 2024. The increase mainly emanated from a rise in the instalment sales of households as that of corporates slowed during the period under review.
Mortgage credit growth stood at 0,8% at the end of February, lower than the 1,3% recorded in January. The lower growth in mortgage credit mainly emanated from lower demand from the household sector and repayments by the corporate sector.
The industry’s cash balances decreased to N$5,2 billion in February, from N$6,2 billion recorded in January. The decrease in the market liquidity levels was in line with lower diamond sales as well as the commercial bank outflows for payments and investments purposes.
