Current account deficit widens to N$3.1 billion during 2nd quarter of 2019 – BoN
The country’s deficit on the current account worsened to N$3.1 bilion compared to a deficit of N$1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2018, according to the Bank of Namibia.
The Bank of Namibia said in their Quarterly Bulletin of the second quarter of 2019 released this week, attributes the widening of the current account deficit to the substantial deterioration in the merchandise trade deficit as a result of a growing import bill, coupled with increased net outflows on the services account.
According to the bulletin, the stock of foreign reserves held by Bank of Namibia increased, supported by higher Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts coupled with lower foreign government payments.
“This resulted in an import cover of 4.5 months at the end of the second quarter of 2019. Namibia’s International Investment Position recorded a net liability of N$2.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2019, lower than the position of N$10.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2018,” they added.
Meanwhile, the central bank said the Namibia dollar depreciated against all major trading currencies due to the downside risks that emanated from the trade tensions between the US and China coupled with South Africa’s weak economic growth.
