Global Economy

In the US, recently revised Q1 18 growth estimate revealed that the economy grew by 2.0% YoY (Previous estimate: 2.2% YoY; Q4 17: 2.9% YoY) reflecting weaker consumer spending and a smaller inventory accumulation compared to the previous estimate. 

Also, in the US, average personal income rose 0.4% in May (0.2% in April) which suggests that growth might be stronger over Q2. Further in the region, new home sales was up 6.7% YoY in May to 689,000-unit. In the United Kingdom, Office for National Statistics revised Q1 18 GDP up to 0.2% (vs. 0.1% previously) following more accurate output from the construction sector. 

Over the same period, UK’s current account deficit narrowed GBP1.8 billion to GBP17.7 billion (3.4% of GDP) in Q1 2018 from a revised deficit of GBP19.5 billion (3.8% of GDP) in Q4 2017, following a faster moderation in total trade deficit which narrowed to GBP3.8 billion from GBP5.7 billion in the prior quarter.

Domestic Economy

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared N701.02 billion (+9.9% MoM) to the three tiers of government in May (revenue generated in April). 

Pointedly, higher FAAC was underpinned by increased crude oil receipt from the sustained rally in crude oil price (Year to April: +12.9% to $75.2/bbl.) as well as stable crude oil production. Sifting through the data, FGN hauled away N289 billion (+7.7% MoM), whilst states and local governments shared N181.9 billion (+7.0% MoM) and N137.3 billion (7.0% MoM) respectively. 

In terms of breakdown for the federating units, analysts note that Lagos got the lion share of N8.3 billion (+7.6% MoM), followed closely by Kano N7.7 billion (+19.5% MoM) and Katsina N5.7 billion (+25.0% MoM).

Reporting for EasyKobo on Monday , 2 July 2018 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria

Source: Analysts from ARM Securities Limited.