Foreign reserves still enough to cover 4.3 months’ imports despite considerable drop – Central bank
The country’s foreign currency reserves went down by a considerable N$3 billion in the past quarter from N$35.2 billion to N$32.3 billion due to increased foreign outflows, the Bank of Namibia said this week.
Bank of Namibia Governor Ipumbu shiimi said despite the decline Namibia is still able to sustain at least 4.3 months of import cover.
The reduction in the foreign reserves comes at a time the country is experiencing a challenging economic environment, he said.
“Domestic economic activity continued to slow down during the first eight months of 2019 compared to the corresponding period on 2018,” he said.
The slowdown was reflected in sectors such as mining, construction, wholesale and retail trade and agriculture. On the contrary, the manufacturing sector improved during the same period. Going forward, the domestic economy is projected to remain weak in 2019, Shiimi added.
The central bank said the economy challenges have also been a result of the global economic setup.
