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Nigeria Transforms Statistics Bureau to Provide Reliable Economic Data
Accurate and accessible data on Nigeria’s economy can guide development strategies, according to experts
The country is looking to expand its data network and become a leader in statistics in Africa
An IDA-funded project is helping Nigeria achieve that goal by reforming the government's Statistics Bureau
October 4, 2010-Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, an institution once viewed as undependable and decaying, is now generating surveys that provide valuable insight into the country’s economy, thanks to funding from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).
For years, the statistics department was largely unknown and undervalued and many statistics users viewed the data as unreliable and of only limited use. With help from IDA and Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID), Nigeria began to transform the bureau by merging the Federal Office of Statistics and the National Data Bank to create the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Since its revamp in 2005, the NBS has conducted over 21 functional surveys and studies on Nigeria’s development, focusing on areas such as employment, welfare indicators, trade, agriculture, industry and business, energy, environment, inflation and others.
National Bureau of Statistics-Nigeria
Source: World Bank
Rand in a range
October 1, 2010-- The rand was hardly off its overnight levels in morning trade on Friday, tracking the euro's movement against the dollar.
A dealer noted a week of consolidation for the local currency having initially surged through 7.00 against the greenback.
At 08:56 the rand was bid at 6.9461 to the dollar from 6.9573 at the previous close. It was bid at 9.4961 to the euro from 9.4706 before and at 10.9347 against sterling from 10.9185 at its previous close
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Source: FIN24
Bonds weaken further on PPI
September 30, 2010--South African bonds were up to 10 basis points weaker in late trade on Thursday after a higher than expected PPI figure crushed hopes of a rate cut at the next MPC meeting in November.
South Africa's producer price index (PPI) registered growth of 7.8% year-on-year (y/y) in August compared with 7.7% y/y in July, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) data on Thursday showed. The PPI increased 0.4% on a monthly basis after July's monthly increase of 1.3%. The PPI was expected to have reached 7.4% y/y, a survey by I-Net Bridge found, with forecasts among nine leading economists ranging from 7.0% y/y to 8.0% y/y.
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Source: FIN24
Credit demand rises
September 30, 2010-- Credit demand by the private sector rose by 2.98% year-on-year in August, compared with a slightly revised 1.96% in July, Reserve Bank data showed on Thursday.
Growth in the broadly defined M3 measure of money supply accelerated to 4.38% year-on-year compared with 3.71% in July.
A Reuters poll showed expectations of private sector credit demand at 2.75% year-on-year in August. Money supply growth was seen increasing to 4.55% on the year for August.
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Source: FIN24
Rand targets R6.90/$
September 29, 2010--The rand eyed 6.90 against a soft US dollar in morning trade on Wednesday, tracking the performance of the euro against the greenback.
At 09:09 local time the rand was bid at 6.9499 to the dollar from 6.9340 at the previous close. It was bid at 9.4566 to the euro from 9.4281 before and at 11.0053 against sterling from 10.9680 at its previous close.
The euro was bid at US$1.3619 from $1.3569 overnight
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Source: FIN24
JSE pares some losses
September 28, 2010-- The JSE had recovered off its earlier lows by noon on Tuesday, but stayed in the red as weaker world equities and the strong rand continued to dampen the mood on the domestic exchange.
By 12:00 local time the JSE all share index had fallen 0.24%, with resources shedding 0.41%, platinum miners down 1.28% and gold miners declining 0.39%. Banks edged down 0.24% and industrials were 0.16% lower. Financials were virtually flat (-0.01%).
The rand was bid at 6.98 to the dollar, unchanged from the JSE's close on Monday. Gold was quoted at US$1 289.19 a troy ounce from US$1 296.20/oz at the JSE's previous close, while platinum was at $1 616.00/oz from $1 630.50/oz at the JSE's previous close.
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Source: FIN24
Rand hits new high
September 28, 2010--The rand advanced to a new two-and-a-half-year high against the dollar on Tuesday as the greenback fell across the board.
The rand was trading at 6.97 against the dollar at 17:41, from Monday's New York close of 7.02. It hit 6.9665 earlier in the day.
A local dealer noted current dollar weakness amid a recovering euro, with the rand potentially sustaining a push below 7.00 against the greenback as a result.
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Source: FIN24
JSE up on Massmart, world equities fall
September 27, 2010--The JSE held up well on Monday, closing higher despite wobbly global stocks and a strong rand, which tends to weigh on rand-hedge stocks and mining counters.
The local market cheered the Massmart news and played catch-up today as the exchange was closed for a public holiday on Friday, when world equities posted strong gains, Kevin Algeo, portfolio manager at Imara SP Reid, said.
By 17:00 local time the JSE all share index was up 0.85%, with resources gaining 0.63%. But platinum miners shed 0.39% and gold miners fell 1.80%. Banks rallied 2.47%, industrials were up 0.72% and financials edged up 1.56%.
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Source: FIN24
Economic outlook perks up
September 27, 2010--- The Reserve Bank’s leading economic indicator – which shows the path of the economy six months to a year ahead – surprised by rising 1.1% to 130.7 in July.
This follows two months of declines which led economist to speculate that an upper turning point in the indicator had been passed and the path downward had started.
Bureau for Economic Research (BER) economist Hugo Pienaar pointed out that the sub-components – economic data – that make up the leading indicator tell the story.
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Source: FIN24
Stats SA: Liquidations decrease in August
September 27, 2010--The total number of liquidations recorded for August 2010 decreased by 8.0% (from 264 to 243) compared with August 2009, Statistics SA said on Monday.
The total number of liquidations recorded for the first eight months of 2010 decreased by 2.0% (from 2643 to 2589) compared with the first eight months of 2009.
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Source: FIN24