Will the Mid-term Budget Review strengthen investor confidence? Klaus Schade
On 11 August Moody’s Investors Services downgraded Namibia from an investment grade to a speculative grade – commonly referred to as junk status. The decision was met in the country with criticism, since it was felt that some of the reasons provided were taken out of context (increase in the share of personnel expenditure over […]
Annual inflation continues to slow down
Klaus Schade of the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) noted that price increases for services are this year the main inflation driver. Schade noted that prices for services increased by 8.4 percent compared to September 2016 and that service prices rose faster than prices for goods since January 2017.
HEADLINE INFLATION SENDS DISTURBING SIGNAL OF UNDERLYING INFLATIONARY PRESSURES CONTINUING
The decision to leave fuel prices unchanged in October will reduce price pressure on transportation costs with subsequent positive impact on the inflation rate in October” stated the Executive Director of the Economic Association of Namibia, Mr Klaus Schade.
NSA releases the Consumer Price Index for September 2017
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has released the Consumer Price Index for September 2017 on 12 October 2017. The annual inflation rate for September 2017 increased for the first time this year. Herewith a few highlights: The annual inflation rate (September 2017 compared to September 2016) increased slightly from 5.4% in August 2017 to 5.6% […]
Less retrenchments expected in coming months – NEF
Edgar Brandt Windhoek-More than 129 000 Namibians lost their jobs since 2014 due to drought and the global financial recession. This is according to a recent presentation by the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN).
Analysts respond to data on Q2 economic contraction – New Era
Windhoek-Recently-released Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) for the second quarter of 2017 indicate that the domestic economy continued to contract at the same pace as in the first quarter of the year, namely by 1.7 percent compared to the second quarter 2016.
Uncertainty over uranium prices outlook
Despite an improved rebound in commodity prices, Uranium remains subdued, and Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) Director Klaus Schade has said the future of uranium prices is uncertain. “Prices remain very low at about US$20 per pound; in fact they are hovering between US$20 and US$25 per pound since the beginning of the year. These […]
EAN Commentary – Second quarter GDP statistics
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) released the second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data on 21 September 2017. The GDP data for the second quarter 2017 are compared to the GDP figures for the second quarter 2016 (year-on-year). The Namibian economy continued to contract at the same pace as in the first quarter 2017, namely […]
EAN Commentary – Quarterly Trade Statistics for the Second Quarter 2017
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has officially released the Quarterly Trade Statistics for the Second Quarter on 21 September 2017. Herewith a few highlights: The revision of the first quarter trade statistics resulted in a widening trade gap. Although total exports were revised upwards to NAD15,607 million, the trade deficit increased from NAD4,695 million to […]
Namibia’s Renewable Energy Feed-In Tarif (REFIT) Program, second year in – Jan-Barend Scheepers
The REFIT Program, initiated by the Electricity Control Board (ECB) has 14 Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs each for 5MW), which were signed between NamPower and various Independent Power Producers (IPPs). 24 months after being launched, where do these 14 projects stand? Designed to add 70MW to the Namibian embedded generation capacity, five plants have been […]