(Business in Cameroon) - Over the period December 2017 to April 2018, the money stock in CEMAC zone dropped by 0.4% to CFA10,556.2 billion, up from the -3% drop a year earlier. This was revealed by the Bank of Central African States (Beac) in a report on the region’s economic situation.

“This downward trend reflects the negative developments of banknotes and coins (-7.4%) and sight deposits (-1.4%), which quasi-currency growth (+7.0%) failed to offset”, the bank said.

During the period under review, the dynamics of CEMAC's main monetary aggregates were marked by a slighter decline by 3.4% in the net external assets of the low monetary system, compared with -9.3% the same period twelve months earlier. In addition, the currency's external coverage rate declined to 57.23%, reflecting a loss of 0.24 point from the level in December 2017. Net claims of the monetary system grew by 4%, while loans to the economy fell by 0.8%.

Let’s note that the six CEMAC countries include Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

S.A