• Market Watch

Demand for credit by households increase

- 2023-08-01 00:00:00

A surge in the demand for credit by households was the main driver of overall private sector credit (PSCE) extension growth in June, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) said.
Credit advanced to households rose moderately by 5.3% year-on-year at the end of June 2023, slightly higher compared to the 5.2% reported at the end of the previous month. Demand for credit with respect to mortgage loans contributed to this growth supported by a growth in instalment credit as well as personal loans and credit cards.
Meanwhile, loans extended to businesses contracted by 0.1% in June 2023 relative to a deeper contraction of 3.4% in May 2023.
Overall, growth in PSCE edged higher at 3.0% year-on-year in June 2023 relative to 1.5% at the end of May 2023.
On 14 June 2023, the Bank of Namibia announced a third consecutive increase in the repo rate this year by 50 basis points (bps) from 7.25% to 7.75%. Year to date, the central bank hiked the repo rate by 100 basis points. The prime lending rate currently stands at 11.50%
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) at its fourth monetary policy announcement for the year decided to keep its repo rate unchanged at 8.25%. Year to date, SARB increased the repo rate by 125 basis points.
Fin24 reported that annual consumer price inflation in South Africa slowed dramatically to 5.4% in June from 6.3% in May. The last time consumer inflation was within the Reserve Bank's target range of 4% to 6% was more than a year ago. Inflation averaged 6.6% in the first half (1H) (January to June) of 2023.
Similarly, inflation in Namibia slowed to 5.3% in June and averaged 6.5% in the first half of 2023, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA). The central bank projects inflation to average 6.1% in 2023.
The repo rate differential between Namibia and South Africa is 50 basis points. The fourth monetary policy announcement by the Bank of Namibia is expected to take place on 16 [email protected]