Luanda - Angola's International Reserves reached 14.24 billion US dollars by the end of October, covering roughly seven months of imports of goods and services for the country, the National Bank of Angola (BNA) has said.
The information was disclosed by the BNA governor, Manuel Tiago Dias during the presentation of the decisions by the 114th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPM) held on November 20 and 21 in Luanda.
According to Manuel Dias, the first 10 months of 2023, the surplus balance of the goods stood at 16.8 billion US dollars, compared to 29.1 billion US dollars recorded in the same period last year.
In the period under review, the figures represent a reduction of 42.27 percent (USD 12.33 billion), reflecting the 32.12 percent drop in export revenues (USD 13.92 billion).
Manuel Dias said the supply of foreign currency on the foreign exchange market stood at 8.43 billion US dollars, a reduction of 28.66 percent compared to the amount traded in the same period last year.
In the commodities markets, the BNA governor said the average oil prices has fallen, due to the increase in supply, in particular the increase in Russian exports, as well as the expectation of lower demand, as a result of the maintenance of restrictive monetary policies by the Central Banks and the uncertainties surrounding the Chinese economy.
Citing the recent IMF report, Manuel Tiago Dias said the outlook for a slowdown in the world economy in 2023 and 2024 remains explained, in particular, by the performance of the advanced and emerging economies.
The BNA governor added that since world inflation remains high, this forces the main Central Banks to remain cautious about reversing their restrictive stance in conducting monetary policy.
Angola’s monthly inflation in October stood at 2.15 percent, mainly due to the contribution of the Food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.42 percent), says a price data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to the INE, the biggest price changes were seen in the Health (2.66 per cent), Transport (2.54 per cent), Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (2.42 per cent) and Clothing and Footwear (2.31 per cent) classes.
In terms of product contributions, 24 of the 732 products in the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) matrix contributed 1.18 percentage points to total inflation, corresponding to 54.67%, with the highlights to white sugar (0.15 percent), rice (0.24 percent), soya oil (0.11 percent) and fresh or frozen horse mackerel (0.07 percent). Year-on-year, the inflation rate stood at 16.58 per cent.
Given the upward trajectory of inflation, it is recommended that monetary policy remain restrictive, with a view to align it with the medium-term objective, a situation that will continue to be monitored by the BNA and could lead to additional measures being taken if necessary.
Money market
The Monetary Base in national currency, the operational variable of monetary policy, expanded 2.29% in October, while the accumulated and year-on-year variations were 16.96% and 22.52% respectively.
The BNA said the accumulated expansion of the Monetary Base was fundamentally driven by the expansionary effect of Tax Enforcement. QCB/AMP
