By Jameel Ahmad
FXTM Vice President of Market Research, Jameel Ahmad writes on how busy the Nigerian market will be this week.
It is going to be a busy week for the Nigerian economy with a mixture of different economic releases likely to catch the attention of headlines.
This includes the unemployment rate for the final quarter of 2016 set to be announced on Tuesday, the latest Foreign Exchange Reserves data from the Central Bank of Nigeria that is being released on Wednesday and the Manufacturing PMI for May scheduled for Thursday.
The announcement of the latest Foreign Exchange Reserves is likely to catch the most attention mainly because of the positive news that in April, FX reserves climbed to their highest levels since September 2015.
There were previously high concerns over Nigeria’s FX reserves slipping below the $30bn level and there will be optimism that the CNB has been exploiting the recent USD weakness by replenishing its FX reserves.
The Manufacturing PMI for May will also be an important economic indicator to keep an eye out for as the data will provide some indications towards what momentum the Nigerian economy has carried into Q2 2017, especially after the disappointment that came about in late May when it was announced that the Nigerian economy had contracted for five consecutive quarters.
