By Chinwendu Obienyi
Nigeria’s money supply rose to N53.3 trillion from N52.2 trillion recorded at the beginning of the year.
This represents a 2.2 per cent increase to date compared to 0.3 per cent recorded in the previous month where money supply increased from N53.14 trillion.
This is according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Money and Credit Statistics which was released at the weekend on its website. The money supply rose to its highest level on record, despite moves by the CBN to mop up excess liquidity in the banking system.
Money supply refers to the total amount of money that is circulating in the economy at a given time. It includes all forms of money such as physical currency, bank deposits and other liquid assets that can be used to make purchases.
The M3 report revealed that net foreign assets increased by 29.3 per cent in two months from N4.25 recorded in December 2022 to N5.49 trillion as at the end of February 2023.
The report also stated that credit to the private sector increased by N212 billion or 0.51 per cent Month-on-Month (MoM) in February to N41.75 trillion as against N41.54 trillion reported in January 2023.
The apex bank disclosed that credit to manufacturing, general commerce, and oil & gas are key sectors benefiting from private sector lending. It added that credit to the private sector so far in 2023 gained 16.03 per cent in its Year-on-Year (YoY) growth from a reported N35.99 trillion in February 2022 to N41.75 trillion in February 2023.
Findings showed that credit to the private sector in 2022 crossed the N41 trillion mark and experts have predicted further increase, driven by government expansion in budgets, among other factors.
The CBN governor during the recent MPC meeting which held in Abuja, said broad money supply (M3) grew by 13.14 per cent (annualized) in February 2023 (year-to-date), below the 2023 provisional annual benchmark of 17.18 per cent.
This, he said, was driven largely by the growth in Net Foreign Assets (NFA), which was attributed to the increase in foreign asset holdings of the Central bank and decrease in foreign claims on Other Depository Corporations (ODCs).