Nigeria’s money supply soars by 48% to record N107.7trn in 2024 -CBN

Onome Amuge

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released its October 2024 Money and Credit Statistics, revealing a major fluctuation in Nigeria’s broad Money Supply (M²).

Data shows that the M² expanded 48.3 percent year-over-year (YoY) to N107.7 trillion, up from the N72.6 trillion recorded in October 2023.

The growth continued for six consecutive months since April 2024 before reversing in October 2024 with a month-on-month decline of 1.5%, down from N109.4 trillion recorded in September 2024.

The CBN’s latest Money and Credit Statistics indicated that the year-over-year (YoY) expansion in Nigeria’s broad Money Supply was driven by significant growth in its major components.

Quasi-money, a category that includes savings deposits, time deposits, and other near-money assets, experienced a 58 percent surge YoY, reaching N73 trillion in October 2024, compared to N46.2 trillion in October 2023.

The expansion in Nigeria’s Money Supply was further fueled by a substantial increase in Demand Deposits, which grew by 46.4 percent YoY to N34.7 trillion in October 2024, compared to N23.7 trillion in October 2023.

In addition, currency outside banks expanded 59.2 percent YoY, reaching N4.3 trillion in October 2024, up from N2.7 trillion in October 2023.

The narrow Money Supply (M1) also recorded a substantial YoY growth of 31 percent, reaching N34.6 trillion in October 2024, up from N26.4 trillion in October 2023.

The driving force behind the increase in M² and M1 is primarily attributed to the significant rise in government domestic borrowing from the private sector.

The CBN data revealed a 326.5 percent YoY increase in credit to the government, as the figure climbed from N9.39 trillion in October 2023 to a record high of N40.05 trillion in October 2024.