Montanaro UK Smaller Investment Trust pl : November 2019 Monthly Economic Review

Reserve Bank of Malawi

Monthly

Economic

Review

November 2019

Table of Contents
1.0	INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................	1
1.1	Gross Official Reserves ..............................................................................................	1
1.2	Exchange Rates...........................................................................................................	1
1.3	Money Supply .............................................................................................................	1
1.4	Interest Rates ..............................................................................................................	1
1.5	Inflation .......................................................................................................................	1
2.0	EXTERNAL SECTOR ..............................................................................................	2
3.0	BANKING AND FINANCE ......................................................................................	2
4.0	CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGETARY OPERATIONS ..............................	6
5.0	PRODUCTION AND PRICES .................................................................................	7
6.0	MONEY AND SECURITIES MARKET.................................................................	9
7.0	CAPITAL MARKETS.............................................................................................	13

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Money Supply and its Sources..............................................................................................	3
Table 2: Central Government Budgetary Operations ......................................................................	7
Table 3: Financial Market Operations .............................................................................................	10
Table 4: Treasury Bills Issuance and Maturity…........................................................................... 101
Table 5: Banking System Liquidity ..................................................................................................	12
Table 6: Interest Rate Structure........................................................................................................	13
Table 7: Selected Economic Indicators.............................................................................................	16
Table 8: Year on Year Inflation (2012=100, 2017=100) ..................................................................	17
Table 9: National Consumer Price Indices (2012=100, 2017=100) ................................................	18
Table 10: Selected Exchange Rates...................................................................................................	19
Table 11: Malawi All Share Index (1999=100) ................................................................................	20

GENERAL NOTES

This Economic Review is produced by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) with the aim of providing current economic information to stakeholders. The Review is published within six weeks after the end of the review month. This particular issue outlines domestic financial and macroeconomic developments during the month of November 2019.

Owing to the rounding up of figures, separate items may not always sum to corresponding totals. In the tables, the following symbols should be noted:

..	Means not available

• Means nil or less than one half the significant digit
  * Means projection
  + Means revised figure
  ^ Means preliminary figure

All queries relating to this publication should be forwarded to the Director, Economic Policy Research Department, Reserve Bank of Malawi, P.O. Box 30063, Capital City, Lilongwe 3. Tel: [phone]; or Fax [phone]; or Email: [e-mail].

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This Economic Review highlights economic developments during the month of November 2019. The analysis covers developments in exchange rates, money, credit and interest rates, inflation, the national accounts and capital markets. The report also highlights developments in government operations.

1.1 Gross Official Reserves

Gross official reserves stood at US$588.7 million at the end of November 2019, compared to US$589.9 million recorded in October 2019.

1.2 Exchange Rates

The Malawi kwacha remained stable against the United States dollar, but exhibited mixed performances against most of its trading partners' currencies.

1.3 Money Supply

The annual growth rate of broad money supply (M2) decelerated to 4.6 percent in November 2019 from 10.8 percent and 12.8 percent in the previous month and corresponding month of 2018, respectively. The downturn in the annual growth rate of M2 in the month was explained by relatively slow growth in Net Domestic Assets (NDA) and a further contraction in Net Foreign Assets (NFA), year on year. On a monthly basis, M2 decreased by 2.4 percent (K29.6 billion) to K1,222.5 billion as at end-November 2019.

1.4 Interest Rates

The Policy rate remained at 13.50 percent in November 2019. Meanwhile, the reference rate stood at 12.30 percent compared to 12.00 percent in October 2019 while average savings deposit rate remained at previous month's positions of 4.47 percent.

1.5 Inflation

Inflationary pressures continued to mount as inflation stood at 10.4 percent in November 2019 from

9.6 percent in the preceding month and 10.1 percent in November 2018. The increase was mainly attributed to food inflation which rose by 1.2 percentage points to 17.2 percent whilst non-food inflation increased marginally by 0.4 percentage points to stand at 4.7 percent in the review month. Average inflation during the period January to November 2019 stood at 9.2 percent compared to an average of 9.1 percent during a similiar period in 2018.

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

1. EXTERNAL SECTOR
2. Malawi Kwacha Exchange Rate

The Malawi kwacha remained stable against the US dollar and closed November 2019 at K741.68 per US dollar. Meanwhile, the kwacha marginally depreciated by 0.5 percent against the British pound and traded at K959.02 per pound in the reviewed month. The depreciation of the kwacha against the pound was partly explained by a relatively stronger pound due to improved outlook of the United Kingdom's social-political environment as the country headed towards general elections scheduled for December 2019. However, the local currency firmed up by 0.7 percent against the euro and traded at K817.23 per euro. The appreciation of the kwacha was partly explained by a relatively weaker euro due to subdued investors' confidence following a slowdown in economic activities in the month under review.

In the Asian region, the local currency appreciated by 0.5 percent against the Japanese yen and 1.1 percent against the Indian rupee and traded at K6.73 per yen and K10.27 per rupee as at end November 2019. The strengthening of the kwacha against rupee was partly explained by relatively weaker Indian rupee as investors turned cautious prior to the release of gross domestic product (GDP) figures. In contrast, the kwacha marginally weakened by 0.3 percent against the Chinese yuan and traded at K104.70 per yuan. The depreciation of the kwacha was partly explained by strengthening of the Chinese yuan as the US-China trade war tension continued to subside.

Within the region, the local currency slid by 2.9 percent against the South African rand and traded at K51.01 per rand. The depreciation of the kwacha against the rand was partly explained by a relatively stronger rand due to improved investors' confidence on the back of financial support allocated towards the country's energy sector in the month under review. Whereas against the Zambian kwacha (ZMK), the Malawi kwacha gained 8.3 percent and traded at K50.78 per ZMK. The appreciation of the local currency was explained by weakening of the ZMK due to poor performance of the mining industry.

1. BANKING AND FINANCE
2. Broad Money and its Components

The annual growth rate of money supply (M2) stood at 4.6 percent in November 2019, down from

10.8 percent and 12.8 percent in October 2019 and November 2018, respectively. On the liability side, the downturn was because of slower year on year growth in both quasi money (QM) and narrow money (M1). In particular, QM and M1 grew by 5.9 percent (K35.5 billion) and 4.6 percent (K54.1

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

billion) compared to 15.2 percent and 10.8 percent recorded in the preceding month and corresponding month of 2018, respectively. Consequently, the contribution of both QM and M1 to the annual growth rate of M2 declined to 3.0 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points from 8.0 percentage points and 2.8 percentage points in the preceding month, respectively.

On month-on-month basis, M2 declined by K29.6 billion (2.4 percent) to K1,222.5 billion. The development was on account of QM which went down by K42.4 billion to K639.9 billion in the reviewed month. In particular, term (time and savings) deposits dropped by K48.3 billion whereas foreign currency denominated deposits (FCD) ticked up by K5.9 billion, thereby partially offsetting the decrease in the term deposits. In contrast, M1 increased by K12.8 billion to K582.6 billion, entirely supported by demand deposits which grew by K16.6 billion. Meanwhile, currency in circulation decreased by K3.9 billion, moderating the growth in M1. In general, the decrease in QM and pick-up in M1 mirrored the reallocation of deposits by farmers and other agricultural traders from term deposits to more liquid assets to finance their purchase of agricultural inputs. (Table 1).

Table 1: Money Supply and its Sources (in MK' billion, unless otherwise stated)

		2018						2019
	Nov		Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
Money Supply (M2)	1,168.4		1,196.5	1,163.	1,170.2	1,174.1	1,168.9	1,215.6	1,263.5	1,254.5	1,282.2	1,272.6	1,252.2	1,222.5
	5
Narrow money	563.9		554.6	510.5	514.7	532.0	533.0	555.3	596.2	577.5	596.6	588.1	569.8	582.6
(M1)
Quasi-money	604.5		641.9	653.0	655.6	642.2	636.0	660.3	667.3	677.0	685.6	684.5	682.4	639.9
Net Foreign Assets	251.6		371.3	492.8	479.4	413.4	369.4	363.6	420.5	347.2	322.2	280.9	233.6	241.3
Net Domestic Assets	916.7		825.2	670.7	690.9	760.8	799.5	852.1	842.9	907.3	960.1	991.7	1,018.5	981.2
Domestic Credit	1,151.3		1,098.1	935.3	945.5	1,034.2	1,071.6	1,147.6	1,166.2	1,158.5	1,221.8	1,291.1	1,314.3	1,333.5
Government (Net)	652.6		606.9	450.0	465.8	547.4	559.4	619.6	615.6	574.2	641.6	706.6	722.1	735.4
Private Sector	466.2		456.7	447.1	442.7	442.3	465.2	478.1	501.7	531.5	522.0	526.5	531.9	538.2
Other Pub. Sector	32.5		34.5	37.5	37.1	44.5	46.9	49.9	48.9	52.8	58.2	58.0	60.4	59.9
Other Items (Net)	-234.6		-272.9	-264.6	-254.7	-273.4	-272.0	-293.1	-323.3	-251.2	-261.7	-299.4	-295.8	-352.3
Annual M2 growth	12.8		11.4	12.4	13.4	15.0	11.5	9.4	10.7	10.8	12.4	11.6	10.8	4.6
(%)
Monthly M2	3.4		2.4	-2.8	0.6	0.3	-0.4	4.0	3.9	-0.7	2.2	-0.7	-1.6	-2.4
growth (%)
Reserve Money	314.9		289.4	274.9	238.9	273.8	257.7	278.7	309.1	330.8	10.6	10.6	6.0	-8.3
Money Multiplier	3.7		4.1	4.2	4.9	4.3	4.5	4.4	4.1	3.8	3.6	3.9	4.1	4.2

Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

3.2 Counterparts to Broad Money

On the assets side, the 4.6 percent annual growth rate in M2 was solely supported by NDA of the banking system, which contributed 5.5 percentage points to the M2 growth rate. In the preceding month and corresponding month of 2018, the contribution of NDA to the annual growth rate of M2 stood at 14.0 percentage points and 32.6 percentage points, respectively. Meanwhile, the share of Net Foreign Assets (NFA) in the annual growth rate of M2 increased to minus 0.9 percentage points from

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

minus 3.2 percentage points and minus 19.8 percentage points in October 2019 and November 2018, respectively.

On a monthly basis, the K29.6 billion downturn in M2 was entirely explained by NDA of the banking system, which decreased by K37.3 billion to K981.2 billion. Meanwhile, NFA edged upwards by K7.6 billion (US$8.7 million) to K241.3 billion (US$325.3 million), partially counteracting the decrease in NDA.

3.2.1 Net Foreign Assets

Overall, banking system reserves expanded to US$684.0 million in the review month from US$673.6 million reported in October 2019. Gross official reserves were to the tune of US$588.7 million compared to US$589.9 million in the preceding month of October 2019. Commercial bank reserves closed the month at US$95.3 million compared to US$83.7 million and US$115.9 million in October 2019 and November 2018, respectively.

3.2.2 Net Domestic Assets

In the month, the banking system saw a decline in its NDA amounting to K37.3, bringing the stock of NDA to K981.2 billion. The development was a result of a net effect decrease in Other Items Net (OIN) of K56.5 billion to K352.3 billion and an increase in domestic credit by K19.2 billion to K1,333.5 billion. OIN declined due to an increase in capital and reserves of the banking system following growth in profitability of the sector and sterilisation activities at the central bank. Specifically, capital and reserves of the banking system grew by K38.0 billion to K636.6 billion whereas repurchase agreements rose by K7.3 billion to K143.6 billion as at the close of November 2019. Further, unsectored assets declined by K9.9 billion to K434.1 billion, augmenting the decrease in OIN.

3.2.2.1 Domestic Credit

Domestic credit registered a growth of K19.2 billion to K1,333.5 billion as at end-November 2019. The growth was supported by net credit to government and credit to the private sector amounting to K13.3 billion and K6.3 billion to K735.4 billion and K538.2 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, credit to statutory corporations declined, albeit marginally, by K453.2 million to K59.9 billion.

1. Credit to the Public Sector

Net credit to government from the commercial banks recorded a monthly upturn of K38.2 billion to K453.5 billion as at end-November 2019. Commercial banks' holding of Treasury notes and Treasury

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

bills increased by K25.4 billion and K3.5 billion to K352.9 billion and K165.8 billion, respectively. Furthermore, government deposits declined by K9.3 billion to K65.2 billion, thereby reinforcing the upturn in net credit to government. Meanwhile, commercial banks outstanding credit to the state- owned enterprises declined by K453.2 million to K59.9 billion.

In contrast to the credit developments at the commercial banks, net credit to government from the monetary authorities decreased by K24.8 billion to K281.9 billion in the month. The decline was largely explained by government deposits at the central bank, which surged by K26.2 billion to K220.7 billion. Further, central government repaid all outstanding Treasury bills at RBM. Meanwhile, central bank holding of Treasury notes picked up by K1.6 billion to K502.6 billion, partially offsetting the decrease in net credit to government.

1. Credit to the Private Sector

The annual growth rate of private sector credit accelerated to 15.4 percent in the month from 14.4 percent and 13.2 percent in the preceding month and corresponding month of 2018. On monthly basis, private sector credit grew by K6.3 billion (1.2 percent) to K538.2 billion, supported by net increases in commercial and industrial loans, foreign currency denominated loans and individual household loans of K5.3 billion, K4.7 billion and K1.4 billion to K227.2 billion, K129.7 billion and K173.0 billion, respectively. In contrast, mortgages declined by K1.6 billion to K41.3 billion.

In terms of economic sectors, credit expansion was recorded in Agriculture (K4.7 billion), Wholesale and retail trade (K2.4 billion), Financial services (K2.3 billion), Community, social and personal services (K2.3 billion), Manufacturing (K942.1 million) and Construction (K578.5 million) sectors. Meanwhile, credit contracted in Electricity, gas, water and energy, Transport, storage and communications and Restaurants and hotels sectors by K2.0 billion, K1.2 billion and K934.8 million, respectively.

The above notwithstanding, the distribution of the outstanding stock of private sector credit across the economic sectors (Chart 1) remained generally the same. Wholesale and retail trade sector continued to be the largest credit holder at 24.7 percent of the outstanding stock of private sector credit, followed by the Agriculture sector at 22.5 percent, Manufacturing at 14.3 percent and Community, social and personal services sector at 12.3 percent.

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

Chart 1: Sectoral Composition of Private Sector Credit

1.00

0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00

		Agriculture, forestry, fishing & hunting		Manufacturing
		Wholesale and retail trade		Community, social and personal services
		Other sectors
Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

4.0 CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGETARY OPERATIONS

Operations of the central government closed the month of November 2019 with a budget deficit of K26.0 billion. This was lower than a deficit of K54.5 billion registered in the same month in 2018. Total revenues and expenditures amounted to K83.9 billion and K109.9 billion, respectively.

4.1 Revenues1

Total revenues recorded a decrease of K14.9 billion from K98.8 billion, following another decline of K11.3 billion from K110.1 billion recorded in the preceding month. The reported decrease was attributed to declines in domestic revenues as foreign receipts declined albeit marginally. Under domestic revenues, tax revenue collections dropped by K16.0 billion to K71.2 billion in November 2019. On the contrary, non-tax revenues reported an increase of K2.7 billion to K6.0 billion, on account of an increase in receipts from government departments and agencies.

Foreign receipts declined marginally by K1.7 billion to K6.6 billion (US$8.9 million) in the review month. There was one major grant received from International Development Association (IDA) for Malawi Digital program, amounting to K3.6 billion (US$4.9 million). The rest of the grants totalling K3.0 billion (US$4.1 million) were transfers towards various government projects.

1Revenue figures may slightly differ with those reported by the Malawi Revenue Authority as RBM records represent data actually remitted into the consolidated account on a particular transfer date.

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

4.2 Expenditures

Expenditures for the month of November 2019 amounted to K109.9 billion. This was a decrease of K1.8 billion from K111.7 billion recorded in the previous month. The marginal decrease in expenditures resulted from a drop in development expenditures by K4.4 billion which more than offset the increase by K2.6 billion in recurrent expenditures reported in the review month.

Table 2: Central Government Budgetary Operations (MK' billion)

	2018							2019
	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
Total Revenues	92.7	89.8	92.4	87.2	96.3	88.5	100.0	132.7	97.3	86.4	110.1	98.8	83.9
Domestic Revenues	85.6	83.2	87.5	82.8	74.3	81.2	86.4	85.1	94.6	81.4	100.9	90.5	77.2
Tax Revenue	80.4	79.8	84.9	78.4	69.9	77.1	81.8	78.5	88.9	77.8	93.3	87.2	71.2
Non Tax revenue	5.2	3.4	2.6	4.4	4.4	4.1	4.6	6.6	5.7	3.6	7.6	3.3	6.0
Departmental receipts	4.1	3.0	1.9	4.0	3.5	2.5	4.0	3.2	3.8	3.0	4.7	2.4	5.4
	1.1	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.9	1.6	0.6	2.0	0.6	2.9	0.9	0.6
Other Receipts	3.4
Grants	7.1	6.7	4.9	4.4	22.1	7.4	13.5	47.6	2.6	5.0	9.2	8.3	6.6
Total Expenditures	147.2	103.0	107.8	103.3	138.0	109.5	131.0	77.8	131.4	127.5	127.7	111.7	109.9
Recurrent Expenditure	129.5	86.7	87.0	84.3	114.0	92.2	110.9	61.5	118.5	113.4	113.8	96.9	99.5
Interest Payments	14.5	7.9	10.4	11.6	34.0	7.2	35.7	15.7	12.1	13.5	39.0	25.3	22.9
Domestic	13.8	6.6	9.3	11.2	31.3	5.9	35.6	15.6	12.0	12.1	36.7	23.3	22.1
Foreign	0.7	1.3	1.2	0.4	2.6	1.3	0.1	75.7	0.0	1.4	2.3	2.0	0.9
Development	17.8	16.3	20.8	19.0	24.0	17.3	20.1	16.3	12.9	14.1	14.0	14.7	10.3
Deficit/Surplus	-54.5	-13.2	-15.4	-16.1	-41.6	-21.0	-31.1	54.9	-34.1	-41.1	-17.7	-12.9	-26.0
Financing (net)	60.0	17.7	22.5	21.3	79.2	53.8	55.0	-22.2	2.2	29.11	47.2	-1.7	43.3
Foreign	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Domestic	60.0	17.7	22.5	21.3	79.2	53.8	55.0	-22.2	-2.2	29.1	47.2	-1.7	43.3
Banking System	72.7	-45.7	-56.2	15.0	81.6	43.0	60.2	-17.4	-41.4	67.4	65.0	15.5	13.3
Non-Bank Sector	-12.7	63.4	178.7	6.3	-2.4	10.8	-5.1	5.0	39.2	-38.3	-17.8	-17.2	30.0
Errors and Omissions	5.5	4.5	7.1	5.2	37.6	32.9	23.9	32.7	-36.3	-12.0	29.5	-14.6	17.3

Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

1. PRODUCTION AND PRICES
2. Domestic Production

5.1.1 Tea Sales

Tea production totalled 1.1 million kilograms in November 2019, lower than 2.2 million kilograms and 1.4 million kilograms produced in October 2019 and in the corresponding period of 2018, respectively. Meanwhile, Limbe Auction Market recorded total sales of 0.5 million kilograms valued

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

at US$0.7 million in the review month higher than 0.3 million kilograms valued at US$0.4 million kilograms traded in the preceding month. Tea prices averaged US$1.38 per kilogram in November 2019 slightly higher than US$1.32 million per kilogram fetched in October 2019 and US$1.78 per kilogram fecthed in November 2018.

5.2 Domestic Prices

Inflationary pressures continued to mount, as inflation stood at 10.4 percent in November 2019 from

9.6 percent in the preceding month. This is a repeated trend from 2018 where inflation hit double digit for the first time in the year at 10.1 percent in November 2018. The hike was attributed to developments in both food and non-food inflation. The increase was observed more in the urban areas than rural areas. Urban inflation stood at 7.3 percent in November 2019 from 6.3 percent in October 2019 and rural inflation stood at 12.9 percent from 12.3 percent in the preceding month. Average inflation during the period January to November 2019 stood at 9.2 percent compared to 9.1 percent recorded during a similar period of 2018.

As the lean season intensifies, food inflation rose by 1.2 percentage points to stand at 17.2 percent in November 2019 as compared to 10.1 percent in the corresponding month of 2018. The increase was most prominent in urban areas than rural areas. Urban food inflation recorded a jump of 2.1 percentage points to 14.1 percent whilst rural food inflation registered a 0.7 percentage points increase to 18.9 percent. Going forward, developments in food inflation will be driven by two key factors. Firstly, as the lean period continues, the seasonal effects due to depletion of maize stocks will likely keep maize prices elevated in the ensuing months. On the other hand, it is expected that the opening of ADMARC depots in early December 2019 will have a stabilizing effect on maize prices in the ensuing months. In addition, the anticipated humanitarian assistance from government and other development partners to food-deficit areas is expected to lessen the increase in maize prices.

Non-food inflation rose to 4.7 percent in November 2019 from 4.3 percent in October 2019. The acceleration largely emanated from the transportation sub-sector following an upward adjustment in fuel pump prices in the review month. The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) effected 5.7 percent and 7.1 percent increases in diesel and petrol pump prices, respectively.

The consumer price index on a month-on-month basis increased by 2.3 percent in November 2019 compared to an increase of 2.2 percent in the preceding month and an increase of 1.5 percent in the corresponding month of 2018. Month-on-month food inflation rate remained at 4.2 percent while

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Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

month-on-monthnon-food inflation rate stood at 0.6 percent compared to 0.4 percent in October

2019.

1. MONEY AND SECURITIES MARKET
2. Open Market Operations

In November 2019, net Government operations resulted into a net withdraw of K13.43 billion. This was a net result of Government net expenditure position of K26.63 billion and a net withdraw of K40.06 billion through net maturities of Government domestic debt securities. A total of K5.09 billion was withdrawn through net foreign exchange sales in November 2019. In addition, K0.25 billion was injected from the financial market through open market operations. Overall, a net of K18.27 billion was withdrawn from the financial market (table 3).

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	Monthly Economic Review						November 2019
	Table 3: Financial Market Operations (MK' billion)
(K'bn)	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
(Net operations supplying liquidity +)	2019	2019	2019	2019	2019	2019	2019
Net Government Operations (+=injection)	64.79	34.53	74.83	63.02	60.25	29.89	-13.43
Net Government Position excluding	44.59	-7.57	36.78	35.87	19.15	15.25	26.63
grants
Revenue	86.42	85.12	94.62	81.42	100.87	90.49	77.22
MRA	81.83	78.51	88.91	77.79	93.26	87.17	71.19
Non-tax	4.58	6.61	5.71	3.63	7.61	3.32	6.03
Expenditure	131.01	77.55	131.40	117.29	120.02	105.74	103.85
Net Government Domestic Borrowing	20.20	42.10	38.05	27.15	41.10	14.64	-40.06
TB/TN/PN issues	35.73	65.42	43.17	48.42	35.85	46.02	77.85
TB/TN/PN maturity	55.93	107.52	81.22	75.57	76.95	60.66	37.79
Net Forex Operations	-16.36	-15.12	-5.58	11.62	-23.15	-5.28	-5.09
Sales	16.36	19.65	26.42	16.98	23.15	7.27	5.09
Purchases	0.00	4.53	20.84	9.51	0.00	1.99	0.00
Net OMO	29.71	-5.03	9.01	1.37	-7.95	17.94	0.25
Injections	615.76	377.00	341.77	119.11	31.66	20.44	14.81
RBM bill maturities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maturity of 3-YR RBM bond	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Purchase of securities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maturity of OMO T-bills	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maturing Deposits on Deposit Facility	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Access on the Lombard Facility	585.25	357.30	332.76	103.55	9.50	2.50	12.38
Repo maturities	30.51	19.70	9.01	15.56	22.16	17.94	2.43
Withdrawals	586.05	382.03	332.76	117.74	39.61	2.50	14.56
RBM bill issues	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Issue of Monetary Policy TBs	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Issue of RBM bond	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Deposits on Deposit Facility	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Sale of securities	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maturing Access on the Lombard Facility	571.31	359.21	326.88	117.74	16.92	2.50	8.99
Repos	14.74	22.82	0.00	0.00	22.69	0.00	5.57
Net Operations	78.14	14.38	84.14	56.92	29.15	42.55	-18.27
Reserve Money Estimate:	278.91	306.97	323.63	351.33	330.72	312.24	283.97
Currency in Circulation	233.00	245.29	263.88	254.36	244.05	235.94	227.14
Bankers Deposits
45.90	61.68	59.75	96.97	86.67	76.30	56.83
Reserve Money Target
346.24	346.24	340.18	340.18	340.18	324.21	324.21
Reserve Money Over (+)/Under (-)
67.33	39.27	16.37	-11.34	9.45	-11.97	-40.24
Performance
	Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

6.2 GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET

6.2.1 Treasury bills Primary Market

The primary market for Treasury bills in the month of November 2019 attracted total subscriptions of K61.21 billion, down from K134.43 billion registered in the previous month.

10

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

The bulk of the subscriptions were on the 364-day tenor which attracted 39.75 percent while the 91-day and 182-day tenors attracted 25.74 percent and 34.51 percent respectively.

On the other hand, a total amount of K36.55 billion was allotted out of the K61.21 billion subscriptions. The highest allotment was made on the 364-day tenor at 57.95 percent, while 16.03 percent and 26.01 percent were allotted on the 91-day and 182-day tenors, respectively. There were no conversions of Ways and Means advances into Treasury bills during the month of November 2019.

Total Treasury bills redemptions during the month under review amounted to K19.04 billion. All maturities were from Treasury bills issued on the primary market. Treasury bill issuances of K36.55 billion against the total maturities of K19.04 billion resulted in a net issuance of K17.51 billion. Thus, the Treasury bills stock during the month of November 2019 increased to K338.29 billion from K320.78 billion recorded at the end of October 2019.

Table 4: Treasury Bills Issuance and Maturity (MK' billion)

	Apr-19	May-19	Jun-19	Jul-19	Aug-19	Sep-19	Oct-19
Total Subscription	52.34	24.07	93.79	54.00	140.50	134.43	61.21
Issues	32.34	19.73	87.86	12.31	20.79	22.67	36.55
Normal	32.34	19.73	87.86	12.31	20.79	22.67	36.55
TB from Conversion	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Maturities	168.17	39.57	76.86	72.14	30.26	49.53	19.04
Normal	53.83	37.70	76.86	72.14	30.26	49.53	19.04
TB from Conversion	114.35	1.87	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Net Issues (+)/maturities(-)	-135.83	-19.84	11.00	-59.83	-9.47	-26.86	17.51
T-Bill stock at Face Value	425.79	405.95	416.94	357.11	347.64	320.78	338.29
Memorandum Items:
Conversions	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
T-Bill stock at Cost Value	385.01	367.59	380.42	326.72	318.31	292.59	309.27

Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

6.2.2 Treasury Bills Yields

The all-type average Treasury bill yield decreased by 50 basis points to 7.54 percent in November 2019 from 8.04 percent in the previous month. The average yields for the 91-day and 182-day tenors decreased by 116 basis points and 98 basis points respectively while the 364-day tenor increased by 65 basis points, closing at 6.13 percent, 7.33 percent and 9.15 percent respectively.

11

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

6.2.3 Treasury Notes Market

Total subscriptions for Treasury notes on the primary market in November 2019 amounted to K89.58 billion. From these subscriptions, total issuances amounted to K45.70 billion representing

51.02 percent of the total subscribed funds. There were no conversions of Ways and Means advances into Treasury notes during the period under review. Of the total of K45.70 billion, K32.24 billion was issued on a 3-year Treasury note at an average yield of 10.70 percent while K13.47 billion was issued on a 10-year Treasury note at an average yield of 17.47 percent. There were no maturities of Treasury notes in November 2019. As a result, the stock of Treasury Notes as at end-November 2019 increased to K1,661.64 billion from K1,615.94 billion in the preceding month.

6.3 Inter-Bank Money Market

Banking system liquidity decreased in November 2019 compared to October 2019. The daily average excess reserves for November 2019 closed at K8.06 billion compared to K26.96 billion that was recorded during October 2019. Access on the Lombard Facility increased to K12.39 billion in November 2019, from a daily average of K0.83 billion in October 2019. However, the interbank volume trading increased to a K7.89 billion in November 2019 from K1.81 billion in October 2019. The interbank market rate (IBR) increased to 11.39 percent at the end of November 2019 compared to 8.69 percent that was recorded at the end of October 2019.

Table 5: Banking System Liquidity (MK' billion)

(K'bn)	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
2019	2019	2019	2019	2019	2019
Daily Average Total Reserves	57.96	55.07	68.34	88.23	82.31	63.60
Daily Average Required Reserves	52.66	54.02	53.64	54.12	55.35	55.32
Daily Average Excess Reserves	5.30	1.05	14.70	34.11	26.96	8.06
Daily Average Un-borrowed Excess Reserves	-14.55	-14.07	8.95	32.21	26.13	-4.33
Daily Average Inter-bank Market Trading	17.59	13.48	7.75	1.63	1.81	7.89
Daily Average Lombard Facility Access	19.85	15.12	5.75	1.90	0.83	12.39
Inter-bank Market Rate (End Period,	13.40	13.53	10.70	10.00	8.69	11.39
Percentage)
Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

6.4 Interest Rates

The Policy rate remained at 13.50 percent in November 2019. Meanwhile, the reference rate edged upwards to 12.30 percent from 12.0 percent in the preceding month. The foregoing outturn followed the increase interbank market rate (IBR). The IBR increased to a monthly average of 10.61 percent

12

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

in November 2019 from 9.81 percent in the preceding month. In contrast, the all-type Treasury bill yield decreased to 7.54 percent from 8.07 percent in the preceding month. In terms of savings rate, commercial banks' average savings deposit rate remained at 4.47 percent in November 2019. Table 6.

Table 6: Interest Rate Structure (MK' billion)

						2019
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
Policy Rate	14.5	14.5	14.50	14.50	13.50	13.50	13.50	13.50	13.50	13.50	13.50
Base Rate	24.78	14.9	14.90	14.90	13.90	13.90	13.90	13.90	13.4*	12.0	12.3
3-mon Fixed Rate	8.13	6.68	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77	6.77
5.40	4.49	4.49	4.49	4.43	4.43	4.43	4.43	4.43	4.47	4.47
Savings Rate
Interbank Rate
Minimum	8.43	4.50	4.57	2.64	11.00	13.32	13.41	10.70	5.00	8.50	8.81
Maximum	14.55	9.68	6.35	11.90	13.60	13.70	13.59	13.53	10.70	10.00	11.55
All Type Treasury
bill Yield1	12.78	10.52	10.58	10.03	9.42	9.48	9.64	10.16	9.64	8.07	7.54
91 Days	11.32	9.61	9.74	9.30	8.84	8.95	8.94	9.40	9.13	7.29	6.13
182 Days	13.01	10.50	10.50	10.00	9.41	9.48	9.56	10.41	9.77	8.31	7.33
364 Days	14.00	11.46	11.50	10.80	10.00	10.00	10.41	10.66	10.03	8.61	9.15
Mortgage (min)	25.00	21.50	21.50	21.50	21.50	21.50	21.50	21.50	21.50	21.00	21.00

Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

*From September 2019, the base rate was replaced with the reference rate

1. CAPITAL MARKETS
2. Stock Market

7.1.1 Primary Market

There was no listing on the primary market and hence the number of listed companies remained the same, at fourteen.

7.1.2 Secondary Stock Market

The secondary stock market registered an increase in both value and volume of shares traded during the month under review. A total of 342.70 million shares earning K7.01 billion were traded compared to 185.45 million shares which earned K2.50 billion in the previous month. The increase of 84.79 percent in volume traded and 181.01 percent in value emanated from increased trading activity on the stock market as investors continued to respond to the positive half-year results released by listed companies. In the corresponding month of the previous year, a total of 109.80 million shares exchanged hands at a total consideration of K8.42 billion.

13

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

The Malawi All Share Index (MASI) lost 1,129.16 points and closed off the month lower at 29,215.33 points, translating into a negative month-on-month return on index of 3.72 percent. The drop in MASI resulted from a decline in the Domestic Share Index (DSI) and Foreign Share Index (FSI) which closed lower at 22,664.27 from 23,445.64 and 4,024.86 from 4,272.58 points respectively in the month of November. The indexes decline originated from the share price losses incurred on Illovo Sugar Malawi plc and FMBCH plc counters (see Chart 3).

Chart 3: Trends in MASI, DSI and FSI

	35,000.00	MASI	DSI	FSI (Rhs)	10,000.00
	30,000.00				9,000.00
				8,000.00
	25,000.00				7,000.00
Points	20,000.00				6,000.00	Points
				5,000.00
15,000.00				4,000.00
	10,000.00				3,000.00
	5,000.00				2,000.00
				1,000.00
	-				-

Source: Malawi Stock Exchange

Total market capitalisation closed lower at K1,380.56 billion in November 2019 from K1,433.24 billion recorded in the previous month. The decline was on account of the share price losses registered on Illovo Sugar Malawi and FMBCH plc counters despite an increase of 105,600 shares on Old Mutual Limited counter. Similarly, domestic market capitalisation closed lower at K1,164.38 billion from K1,205.04 billion in October 2019 solely on account of a share price loss on Illovo counter while foreign market capitalisation also closed lower at K216.17 billion from K228.19 billion on account of a share price loss on FMBCH counter.

In dollar terms, total market capitalisation declined to US$1.88 billion from US$1.94 billion in the previous month. In the corresponding period of 2018, total market capitalisation stood at US$1.62 billion.

14

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

7.2 Debt Market

There was no listing in the debt market in the review period and hence the total number of debt instruments remained at fourteen (14), comprising five (5) corporate bonds and nine (9) treasury notes. Meanwhile, there was no secondary market trade during the review period.

15

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

APPENDIX

Table 7: Selected Economic Indicators (in MK' billion, unless otherwise stated)

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2018	2019
								Nov	Nov
Real Sector
Population (million)	14.8	15.3	15.8	16.3	16.8	17.4	17.9	17.9	18.5
GDP at current market prices	1,425.2	1,924.1	2,534.5	3,212.7	3,812.6	4,631.9	5,266.3	5,266.3	5,970.1
Real GDP growth (percent)	2.1	6.3	6.2	3.3	2.7	5.1	4.0	4.0	5.0
GDP per capita (K'000)	102.5	133.6	160.4	197.1	226.9	266.6	293.7	293.7	322.6
GDP per capita (US$)	411.6	361.9	378.0	394.5	318.1	365.1	401.0	401.0	440.5
Consumer Price Index (CPI)2	403.4	127.3	157.6	192.0	233.7	260.7	104.7	108.7	119.4
Average annual inflation rate (percent)	21.3	27.3	23.8	21.9	21.7	11.5	9.2	10.1	10.4
Fiscal Sector
Total Revenue	363.3	476.4	535.9	661.3	810.0	946.6	1,079.1	92.7	83.9
Domestic Revenues	265.2	373.0	483.0	614.2	742.0	858.7	988.6	85.6	77.2
Grants	97.9	103.4	52.9	47.1	67.0	87.9	90.5	7.1	6.6
Total expenditure	388.6	539.3	593.1	762.7	964.3	1,136.1	1,316.7	147.2	109.9
Recurrent	349.8	459.9	534.4	667.2	832.5	973.1	1,119.9	129.5	99.5
Development	72.1	79.4	58.7	95.5	131.8	163.0	196.9	17.8	10.3
Deficit/GDP ratio (after grants)	-6.5	-3.4	-2.6	-3.2	-4.0	-4.1	-4.5	-1.0	-0.4
Monetary Sector
Net Foreign Assets	31.9	134.2	241.6	339.5	355.8	455.7	372.6	251.6	241.3
Net Domestic Credit	369.6	452.4	458.2	604.4	755.0	937.8	1,098.1	1,151.3	1,333.5
Government	140.6	184.1	153.4	209.0	337.5	519.9	606.8	652.6	735.4
Statutory bodies	19.4	17.8	4.3	5.1	9.2	8.1	34.5	32.5	59.9
Private (gross)	220.1	250.4	300.5	390.3	408.3	409.8	456.7	466.2	538.2
Money Supply (M2)	386.5	522.0	629.8	778.8	897.3	1,074.4	1,196.5	1,168.4	1,222.5
M2 Growth Rate (annual percent)	22.9	35.1	20.7	23.7	15.2	19.7	11.4	12.8	4.6
Reserve Money	113.2	156.9	212.3	206.0	240.6	278.9	289.4	20.7	-8.3
Banks Deposits	42.2	61.6	92.4	66.0	56.2	78.2	59.6	100.1	61.7
External Sector
Overall Balance	6.3	68.6	76.3	45.1	-48.0	43.9	2.2	..	..
Current Account	-208.9	-449.1	-482.1	-411.5	-532.4	-555.4.	-996.3	..	..
Exports (fob )	313.8	472.0	641.9	562.0	754.0	694.5	574.4	..	..
Imports (cif)	584.5	1002.5	1140.6	1105.1	1537.0	1807.7	2023.6	..	..
Trade balance	-270.7	-530.5	-498.7	-543.1	-783.0	-1113.2	-1449.2	..	..
Capital account balance	89.6	222.7	194.1	114.0	171.6	219.1	294.0	..	..
Gross foreign exchange reserves	139.1	278.4	389.6	549.2	586.7	586.7	658.8	530.5	507.3
Official	72.2	173.0	276.6	445.3	438.6	438.6	546.9	444.6	436.6
Commercial banks	66.9	105.4	113.0	103.9	148.1	148.1	111.9	85.9	70.7
Import cover (Official reserves in
months)	1.1	2.1	3.1	3.2	2.9	2.9	3.6	2.9	2.8
Current account balance/GDP								..	..
(percent)	-19.0	-27.6	-19.7	-16.9	-20.5	-24.0	-14.7
Debt/GDP (percent)	28.9	34.1	33.6	33.0	35.0	44.4	62.7	..	..
Debt Service/Exports (percent)	1.2	2.5	3.4	3.8	4.1	5.4	4.9	..	..
MK/US Dollar (eop)	335.127	435.229	435.229	664.365	725.01	730.46	733.69	741.11	741.68
MK/US Dollar (pd avg)	330.457	369.181	369.181	499.607	713.85	726.65	732.33	736.58	740.20

Source: National Statistical Office, Reserve Bank of Malawi and Ministry of Finance

2 2000=100 for the years 2007-2009 and 2012; 2010= 100 for the years 2010, 2011 and 2013.

16

Monthly Economic Review	November 2019

Table 8: Year on year Inflation (2012=100, 2017=100)

	All items	Food & Non-alcoholic	Non-food inflation
2015	21.9	23.9	20.0
2016	21.7	26.6	17.1
2017	11.5	10.3	12.8
2018	9.2	9.8	9.0
2016
Jan	23.5	28.4	18.5
Feb	23.4	28.6	17.9
Mar	22.1	26.5	17.8
Apr	20.9	24.3	17.7
May	21.5	25..7	17.6
June	22.6	27.7	18.2
July	23.5	29.2	18.7
Aug	22.8	28.7	17.8
Sept	21.2	27.0	15.9
Oct	20.1	25.4	15.2
Nov	19.9	24.8	15.2
Dec	20.0	24.4	15.4
2017
Jan	18.2	21.1	15.0
Feb	16.1	17.5	14.6
Mar	15.8	17.0	14.5
Apr	14.6	14.7	14.5
May	12.3	11.2	13.5
Jun	11.3	9.3.	13.2
Jul	10.2	7.4	12.7
Aug	9.3	6.2	12.2
Sept	8.4	5.1	11.6
Oct	8.3	4.8	11.7
Nov	7.7	4.7	11.0
Dec	7.1	4.3	10.0
2018
Jan3	8.1	7.6	9.6
Feb	7.8	7.3	9.4
Mar	9.9	10.6	9.7
Apr	9.7	10.0	8.9
May	8.9	9.5	8.4
Jun	8.6	9.1	8.2
Jul	9.0	9.5	8.7
Aug	9.3	10.1	8.7
Sep	9.5	10.2	8.9
Oct	9.7	10.4	9.2
Nov	10.1	10.8	9.5
Dec	9.9	12.0	8.2
2019
Jan	8.8	10.7	7.1
Feb	7.9	10.8	5.4
Mar	9.3	14.4	5.0
Apr	9.1	13.8	5.4
May	8.9	13.0	5.7
Jun	9.0	13.7	5.4
Jul	9.3	14.2	5.5
Aug	9.5	14.6	5.4
Sep	9.2	13.9	5.4
Oct	9.6	16.0	4.3
Nov	10.4	17.2	4.7

Source: National Statistical Office

3 From Jan 2018 base year is 2017 (i.e. 2017=100)

17

	Monthly Economic Review							November 2019
				Table 9: National Consumer Price Indices (2012=100, 2017=100)
				Alcoholic		Housing,
			Food &	drinks	Clothing	water &	Furnishing						Restauran
		All	Non-	&	&	electricit	&		Transp	Commu	Recreation		ts &	Miscellan
		items	alcoholic	Tobacco	Footwear	y	Household	Health	ortation	nication	& Culture	Education	Hotels	eous
	Weight4	100	50.2	2.4	5.9	12.6	3.0	1.3	11.7	3.6	1.2	3.0	1.3	3.9
	Weight5	100	45.2	2.5	2.9	23.1	4.6	2.9	8.4	3.7	0.9	2.1	2.0	1.6
	2015	192.0	185.1	156.7	174.4	241.9	192.1	159.6	176.1	183.9	223.4	169.1	262.0	158.2
	2016	233.7	234.4	181.3	199.1	294.1	225.7	184.4	201.2	195.9	268.8	205.6	297.6	176.0
	2017	260.7	258.4	209.3	224.6	346.2	246.7	225.3	211.9	205.1	321.9	224.5	329.9	191.9
	2018	104.7	104.1	105.9	105.5	106.2	105.0	104.3	105.2	102.0	103.5	100.9	103.7	106.0
	2017
	Jan	270.7	287.3	200.4	217.3	332.7	237.7	211.9	208.1	198.0	308.8	220.5	317.6	187.0
	Feb	277.1	294.8	201.2	219.1	348.0	239.9	212.4	208.5	198.0	315.0	220.5	319.4	188.9
	Mar	269.3	278.3	201.6	220.1	348.2	240.6	217.4	209.4	198.0	321.0	220.5	320.1	190.0
	Apr	259.7	257.6	201.6	221.1	348.4	243.2	219.5	210.2	205.3	321.2	222.0	320.3	191.0
	May	253.9	247.4	202.9	222.8	341.9	243.8	220.9	210.8	205.3	321.4	222.0	330.8	192.3
	Jun	248.1	234.4	209.0	225.4	342.2	246.3	229.7	212.0	205.3	322.7	222.0	332.5	193.0
	Jul	243.6	225.4	210.9	226.6	340.3	249.8	230.3	212.3	205.3	323.7	222.0	333.1	192.8
	Aug	244.8	227.4	211.2	227.4	340.3	250.5	230.5	213.8	205.3	324.0	222.0	333.9	193.3
	Sept	254.2	244.3	216.9	228.3	340.4	251.0	231.0	214.2	210.1	324.0	230.6	334.0	193.2
	Oct	258.0	250.4	217.2	228.6	344.5	251.9	231.7	214.4	210.1	325.8	230.6	338.0	193.7
	Nov	269.0	268.5	218.5	229.2	355.8	252.6	234.3	214.5	210.1	327.4	230.6	338.8	193.9
	Dec	279.9	285.2	219.7	229.4	372.0	253.3	234.3	214.7	210.1	327.4	230.6	340.8	194.0
	2018
	Jan6	104.5	108.4	100.0	100.1	103.0	100.1	100.5	100.2	100.0	100.4	100.0	100.4	100.4
	Feb	106.8	110.9	101.3	102.4	105.5	102.5	101.6	102.1	101.0	101.7	100.0	101.9	102.4
	Mar	105.8	107.9	103.5	103.6	106.2	102.9	102.1	102.6	101.1	101.8	100.2	102.2	103.6
	Apr	101.8	99.3	104.1	104.0	105.6	103.0	102.5	102.7	101.1	102.1	100.2	102.3	103.8
	May	101.2	97.7	104.8	104.5	105.6	103.3	102.8	103.1	101.8	102.8	100.2	10.3.0	104.1
	Jun	101.0	96.5	106.3	104.7	105.7	104.3	103.3	104.5	101.9	103.5	100.2	103.5	104.9
	Jul	101.6	97.5	107.0	105.2	105.7	105.1	103.3	105.8	101.9	103.6	100.2	103.8	105.3
	Aug	103.0	100.1	107.9	106.3	105.9	106.0	104.2	106.4	102.3	104.4	100.2	104.0	107.4
	Sep	105.1	103.7	108.3	107.8	106.0	107.6	106.8	107.2	103.0	105.1	101.5	105.4	109.4
	Oct	107.1	106.2	108.7	108.7	108.5	108.3	107.4	108.7	103.3	105.4	102.5	105.7	110.0
	Nov	108.7	109.4	109.1	109.2	108.5	108.5	108.3	109.5	103.3	105.8	103.1	105.8	110.2
	Dec	109.9	112.0	109.4	109.6	108.5	108.7	108.6	109.6	103.4	106.0	103.1	105.9	110.4
	2019
	Jan	113.7	119.9	110.1	109.8	109.2	109.2	109.2	109.4	103.4	106.2	103.4	106.3	111.5
	Feb	115.2	122.9	111.1	109.9	109.3	109.5	111.3	109.5	103.4	106.3	106.6	106.4	112.7
	Mar	115.6	123.4	111.4	110.4	109.3	110.1	112.0	110.2	104.3	106.4	103.6	106.5	113.6
	Apr	111.1	113.0	112.2	111.3	109.4	110.8	112.9	110.5	104.3	107.0	103.6	106.7	113.8
	May	110.2	110.4	112.6	111.9	110.1	111.7	113.1	110.9	104.4	107.1	103.6	107.1	114.3
	Jun	110.0	109.8	113.4	112.7	110.1	112.3	113.2	111.2	104.4	107.4	103.6	107.2	115.0
	Jul	111.0	111.4	113.9	113.4	110.3	112.9	114.0	112.5	104.7	107.8	103.6	107.8	115.6
	Aug	112.8	114.7	114.9	115.1	110.4	114.4	115.2	112.7	105.1	108.2	103.6	108.5	116.4
	Sep	114.8	118.1	115.8	115.6	110.6	115.2	116.9	113.0	105.4	108.4	110.3	109.9	118.3
	Oct	117.3	123.1	117.4	116.2	111.0	115.5	117.5	113.5	105.4	108.6	111.5	110.5	118.8
	Nov	119.9	128.2	117.8	117.0	111.1	116.0	118.3	116.1	105.4	109.1	111.5	111.2	119.4

Source: National Statistical Office

1. Weights 2012=100
2. Weights 2017=100
3. From Jan 2018 base year is 2017 (i.e. 2017=100)

18

		Monthly Economic Review									November 2019
						Table 10: Selected Exchange Rates7
	US dollar		Euro			British pound		Chinese yuan		SA rand		ZMK
	Buy	Sell	Buy	Sell		Buy		Sell	Buy		Sell	Buy	Sell	Buy	Sell
2015	490.519	508.693	543.982	564.100	748.718		776.460	78.142		81.044	38.303	39.764	58.191	60.503
2016	704.898	722.806	779.096	798.800	954.603		979.848	106.275		108.961	48.104	49.321	68.466	70.199
2017	727.928	733.447	819.526	834.266	935.918		953.000	106.051		108.729	53.794	55.267	75.296	77.042
2018	729.651	735.014	856.079	869.892	968.269		984.301	108.661		111.450	54.388	56.164	69.062	70.835
2015
Jan	439.266	469.247	497.249	531.188	661.840		707.015	71.794		76.766	38.016	40.612	67.684	72.303
Feb	427.057	447.650	462.085	484.369	639.114		669.938	68.657		72.551	35.339	37.043	61.550	64.590
Apr	430.152	448.896	463.557	483.753	632.678		660.208	68.591		71.872	35.827	37.388	58.166	60.698
May	430.280	448.985	479.983	500.855	664.743		693.639	69.384		72.428	35.975	37.539	59.061	61.627
Jun	428.129	446.334	480.426	499.036	666.314		694.652	69.345		72.363	34.829	36.312	58.463	60.950
Jul	458.112	480.430	504.173	528.729	712.848		747.560	69.065		72.043	36.806	38.602	59.800	62.713
Aug	551.507	564.452	616.420	630.888	849.101		869.031	74.268		77.693	41.468	42.441	64.203	65.710
Sept	554.563	567.806	623.164	638.048	850.969		871.293	84.852		86.133	40.722	41.694	55.302	56.621
Oct	546.158	558.865	612.276	626.896	835.620		855.565	86.947		89.049	40.383	41.347	45.316	46.398
Nov	573.804	588.287	616.625	632.188	872.797		894.826	85.992		88.052	40.647	41.673	47.023	48.210
Dec	628.551	644.416	683.866	701.127	942.858		966.655	91.048		93.353	42.012	43.072	58.100	59.567
2016
Jan	689.273	707.802	735.692	754.318	994.826		1020.01	105.961		108.643	42.216	43.284	62.063	63.634
Feb	733.310	751.496	814.174	834.368	1050.36		1076.41	112.257		115.058	46.563	47.718	64.740	66.346
Mar	676.070	694.295	766.535	787.199	954.023		993.090	106.735		109.517	46.244	47.491	69.387	71.256
April	676.069	694.295	766.534	787.199	954.023		993.090	104.443		107.254	46.244	47.490	71.256	70.321
May	691.907	708.911	781.808	801.144	1006.07		1030.95	106.107		108.696	45.074	46.189	68.885	70.589
June	702.361	718.710	788.202	806.547	996.913		1020.12	106.451		108.949	46.445	47.526	65.451	66.975
July	707.082	725.022	782.366	802.215	932.749		956.413	106.028		108.713	49.128	50.375	71.436	73.249
Aug	711.599	729.887	797.475	817.970	932.851		956.826	106.956		109.681	51.748	53.078	70.656	72.472
Sept	712.351	730.113	798.610	818.523	937.345		960.718	106.780		109.437	50.691	51.955	71.480	73.262
Oct	712.296	730.153	785.775	805.475	880.354		902.425	105.875		108.530	51.178	52.461	71.929	73.732
Nov	716.301	733.994	761.643	780.457	894.159		916.246	104.219		106.847	51.462	52.733	72.500	74.291
Dec	715.802	734.216	753.882	773.277	879.076		901.692	103.484		106.208	52.606	53.960	72.786	74.658
2017
Jan	725.426	733.768	773.148	786.079	908.281		921.047	103.894		106.514	53.232	54.638	72.392	72.392
Feb	727.551	734.109	766.153	776.630	899.648		914.206	104.272		106.866	55.685	56.739	75.424	77.287
Mar	730.455	733.541	770.795	785.490	899.134		910.368	103.941		106.490	52.618	54.754	74.303	76.123
Apr	727.924	733.788	785.475	799.857	931.334		950.682	104.127		106.614	54.770	55.370	76.492	78.271
May	726.340	734.136	809.439	822.489	927.763		942.523	104.210		106.681	55.263	56.086	77.598	79.435
Jun	725.009	732.019	821.648	841.292	937.907		958.245	105.303		107.935	55.475	56.350	77.851	79.854
Jul	728.553	732.543	853.031	863.850	947.279		968.040	105.715		108.481	55.710	56.516	80.658	82.766
Aug	730.621	733.596	850.556	872.749	936.025		951.950	107.303		110.105	55.749	56.461	78.563	80.601
Sept	729.534	733.718	854.065	866.222	967.268		987.703	109.046		111.870	53.274	54.425	73.932	75.849
Oct	728.501	733.550	850.088	863.901	953.606		971.940	108.059		110.862	50.168	53.739	73.431	75.335
Nov	728.026	733.313	845.541	862.629	954.842		971.968	108.181		110.958	48.949	52.223	71.665	73.505
Dec	727.197	733.288	854.369	870.008	967.933		987.336	108.563		111.365	54.632	55.905	71.245	73.084
2018
Jan	728.995	728.995	892.879	909.208	1032.51		1045.15	111.392		114.254	60.972	62.317	73.158	75.068
Feb	728.995	733.988	892.879	909.208	1009.67		1028.42	113.333		116.293	60.972	62.317	73.158	75.068
Mar	729.275	734.004	891.443	906.858	1012.08		1027.82	113.419		116.384	61.015	62.145	73.758	75.686
Apr	728.105	734.004	888.479	902.409	1019.50		1037.19	113.765		116.736	56.673	60.867	74.908	76.865
May	727.547	733.789	855.950	868.811	974.522		991.191	112.448		115.341	57.772	58.741	71.133	72.963
Jun	728.060	733.909	845.839	858.046	961.666		977.244	110.859		113.743	54.484	55.579	71.164	73.016
Jul	727.323	733.367	845.584	858.657	954.371		968.441	106.716		109.455	53.924	54.948	72.372	74.229
Aug	728.112	733.698	834.501	849.175	933.500		947.867	104.684		107.302	51.537	52.457	71.229	73.009
Sept	729.920	734.331	843.875	859.303	945.543		961.283	104.681		107.273	46.710	50.144	66.217	67.857
Oct	733.006	737.337	837.572	847.406	946.607		960.791	103.981		106.577	50.059	51.152	60.371	61.879
Nov	734.445	738.709	829.096	840.370	940.229		955.658	103.875		106.544	51.586	52.831	60.915	62.480
Dec	733.315	739.564	828.089	842.811	922.366		939.924	104.777		107.498	48.686	52.399	60.726	62.304
2019
Jan	733.463	738.449	831.468	845.497	933.840		954.533	106.019		108.854	52.390	53.608	60.402	62.017
Feb	731.909	739.743	827.082	839.898	948.727		963.568	106.845		109.815	52.701	53.883	60.471	62.152
Mar	734.635	740.669	825.030	837.653	961.860		977.338	107.324		110.329	50.745	51.786	60.018	61.698
Apr	739.444	745.369	825.152	837.926	958.331		972.991	107.814		110.899	51.799	52.874	59.134	60.826
May	747.349	754.837	830.806	844.502	952.922		970.197	106.641		109.704	51.329	52.512	55.357	56.947
Jun	773.912	780.894	866.595	878.689	971.914		988.050	109.620		112.694	52.541	53.842	58.010	59.636
Jul	763.498	772.922	852.960	867.230	947.255		967.427	109.858		112.899	54.385	55.442	59.370	61.013
Aug	734.731	743.437	815.403	828.210	888.600		906.030	102.554		105.576	48.383	49.339	55.661	57.301
Sep	735.331	741.418	847.705	861.349	959.553		976.147	108.056		110.930	53.408	54.912	65.163	66.890
Oct	734.453	741.465	819.410	827.400	948.604		959.293	103.354		105.421	48.731	49.532	54.841	55.938
Nov	737.612	742.782	813.044	821.276	947.025		958.290	103.740		105.825	49.621	50.386	49.621	50.386

Source: Reserve Bank of Malawi

7 Averages of daily rates quoted by the Reserve Bank for dealing with commercial banks in Malawi

19

Monthly Economic Review				November 2019
				Table 11: Malawi All Share Index (1999=100)
	Period		INDICES			RETURN	SHARE TURNOVER	CAPITALISATION
		Domestic	Foreign	All share		Dividend	Earnings per	Volume of shares traded	Value	Value of shares issued
		Share	Share	Index		Yield	Share		(Malawi Kwacha)	(Malawi Kwacha)
		Index	Index				(Kwacha)
	2015	11,462.9	1,762.1	14,562.5		4.0	28.4	2,355,317,369	48,592,086,538.8	7,522,117.1
	2016	10,456.9	2,026.1	13,320.5		5.2	42.8	410,895,390	6,196,059,036.9	8,516,542.4
	2017	16,272.6	3,519.4	21,598.1		2.7	32.4	698,894,283	13,516,146,248.3	10,609,490.8
	2018	28,983.5	5,265.1	21,318.1		1.9	6.9	958,247,064	48,695,858,938.08	1,284,705.7
	2016
	Jan	11,365.60	1,762.13	14,440.24		4.0	28.4	2,795,087	99,852,436.20	7,516,892.89
	Feb	11,225.08	1,762.13	14,263.58		4.0	28.3	1,830,916	106,507,786.33	7,509,345.98
	Mar	10,554.04	1,762.13	13,419.95		6.1	45.7	5,067,001	89,521,602.30	7,473,305.73
	Apr	10.109.50	1,762.13	12,861.07		6.0	45.7	54,962,804	528,512,298.00	7,448,932.42
	May	10,072.19	1,762.13	12,814.18		6.0	45.0	30,578,347	302,536,644.07	7,446,930.72
	Jun	10,320.33	1,762.13	13,126.13		5.9	45.0	5,499,723	160,580,210.34	7,460,245.29
	Jul	10,523.46	1,762.13	13,381.50		5.9	45.0	9,822,509	79,415,164.70	7,471,145.06
	Aug	10,424.86	1,762.13	13,174.36		5.9	45.0	42,384,723	985,792,369.78	7,462,303.95
	Sept	10,793.84	2,026.07	13,744.12		5.2	45.0	29,146,377	520,695,844.27	8,525,541.22
	Oct	10,824.35	2,026.07	13,782.48		5.2	45.0	2,601,165	331,416,056.34	8,527,178.17
	Nov	10,103.29	2,026.07	12,875.85		5.2	45.8	38,318,065	1,385,112,183.47	8,497,260.46
	Dec	10,456.92	2,026.07	13,320.51		5.2	42.8	187,888,673	1,606,116,441.14	8,516,542.43
	2017
	Jan	10,303.61	2,026.07	13,127.73		5.2	42.8	9,462,616	299,523,065.19	8,508,182.95
	Feb	10,707.55	2,026.07	13,635.67		5.2	42.8	12,896,314	179,654,629.77	8,530,208.72
	Mar	11,437.62	2,308.87	14,577.62		4.6	43.3	15,057,251	248,460,512.40	9,679,155.09
	April	11,935.73	2,308.87	15,203.97		4.6	43.5	10,160,058	788,100,892.16	9,706,315.56
	May	12,228.65	2,325.21	15,573.68		4.6	43.5	71,859,658	1,343,060,713.98	9,786,371.11
	June	12,386.77	2,325.21	15,772.51		2.9	35.39	24,562,635	1,065,495,688.62	9,794,992.97
	July	13,265.14	2,325.21	16,877.16		2.9	32.38	230,820,088	1,759,096,772.00	9,856,500.67
	Aug	15,780.73	2,425.75	20,049.44		2.8	32.38	43,516,315	1,587,733,421.39	10,390,610.09
	Sept	15,687.31	2,425.75	19,920.42		2.7	30.00	83,482,149	1,325,916,804.33	10,488,063.79
	Oct	15,760.94	2,474.85	20,049.06		2.7	30.00	60,346,580	2,108,221,256.74	10,494,708.34
	Nov	15,850.21	3,516.49	21,122.43		2.7		14,395,164	763,567,556.43	10,547,692.73
							30.00
	Dec	16,272.64	3,519.43	21,598.07		2.7	32.38	122,335,455	2,047,314,935.24	10,609,490.79
	2018
	Jan	16,692.97	3,673.87	22,223.44		2.7	32.38	36,519,356	1,318,037,153.35	10,661,816.40
	Feb	17,535.66	3,706.12	23,182.59		2.6	32.38	245,801,275	7,696,394,315.30	10,827,425.44
	Mar	18,009.73	5,197.43	25,286.79		2.3	32.10	39,059,770	1,133,690,674.34	12,435,390.30
	Apr	18,158.46	6,743.62	27,092.17		2.3	51.62	80,903,126	3,676,838,010.81	15,654,624.25
	May	19,436.22	8,201.57	30,043.03		2.2	50.89	265,730,032	10,613,139,506.1	16,006,955.25
	Jun	20,033.47	8,237.82	30,736.95		1.8	6.66	6,468,082	213,441,483.83	1,370,739.23
	Jul	20,513.69	8,237.32	31,263.14		1.7	6.45	13,787,978	590,259,713.23	1,385,750.21
	Aug	21,145.76	8,237.32	31,956.43		1.7	6.45	43,722,958	3,009,473,246.19	1,416,480.06
	Sep	21,621.84	8,138.23	32,373.19		1.8	6.45	27,090,165	3,758,351,970.38	1,434,953.37
	Oct	20,938.61	7,196.88	30,622.36		1.8	6.45	46,485,804	5,845,797,261.15	1,357,347.23
	Nov	20,772.39	3,778.77	26,803.80		2.0	6.89	109,803,770	8,429,682,349.22	1,188,088.65
	Dec	28,983.53	5,265.12	21,318.07		1.9	6.89	42,869,348	2,410,753,256.42	1,284,705.65
	2019
	Jan	21,159.22	5,265.12	28,808.89		1.8	5.64	46,773,797	2,357,679,787.25	1,347,534.92
	Feb	20,829.45	4,521.94	27,687.33		1.9	6.07	165,978,557	6,984,580,841.27	1,293,719.15
	Mar	20,483.29	4,521.94	27,303.65		1.9	5.63	207,926.826	4,822,095,283.42	1,275,935.00
	April	20,334.43	4,521.94	27,138.65		1.9	5.66	53,606,240	5,237,292,481.94	1,281,524.29
	May	22,235.79	4,521.93	29,246.08		2.0	4.84	139,056,337	9,091,064,161.08	1,379,206.06
	June	22,877.77	4,520.31	29,956.00		2.0	4.37	14,124,014	807,635,164.50	1,412,128.98
	July	22,387.89	4,520.31	29,413.02		2.0	4.37	27,022,913	2,203,627,437.99	1,387,035.06
	Aug	22,420.52	4,272.58	29,197.17		2.0	4.00	27,644,237	798,659,625.46	1,378,000.47
	Sept	22,735.48	4,272.58	29,546.27		2.0	4.00	154,699,117	3,706,719,491.33	1,394,440.03
	Oct	23,445.64	4,272.58	30,344.49		2.0	4.00	185,453,439	2,495,407,311.96	1,433,241.37
	Nov	22,664.27	4,024.86	29,215.33		2.0	4.0	342,696,807	7,012,268,671.68	1,380,557.13

Source: Malawi Stock Exchange

20