Our source obtained the Quarterly Economic Bulletin for the first quarter of 2023 issued by the Research and Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Libya, as it contained many important monetary, financial and economic data and indicators.
As the first quarter of the current year 2023 witnessed an increase in the money supply in the broad sense, or what is known as local liquidity, to record the money supply about 114.1 billion dinars, compared to 110.3 billion at the end of the previous quarter, this increase is due to the increase in the currency circulated outside the banking sector and demand deposits, as the currency traded outside the banking sector amounted to 2.6 billion dinars, and demand deposits increased by 1.4 billion dinars compared to what it was in the previous quarter.
The monetary survey indicated an increase in net foreign assets by 1.6 billion dinars, or the equivalent of about 327.4 million US dollars, to record net foreign assets of about 389.3 billion dinars at the end of the first quarter of 2023, compared to 387.7 billion dinars in the previous quarter.
The total assets of the Central Bank increased at the end of the first quarter by 10.4 billion dinars compared to what it was in the previous quarter, to record the assets of the Central Bank about 537.4 billion dinars.
The total currency issuance at the end of the first quarter amounted to 37 billion dinars, of which 3.3 billion dinars were in bank coffers, and about 33.9 billion dinars circulated outside the banking sector, meaning that it is with the public.
The combined total assets of commercial banks decreased from about 148.5 billion dinars at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 to about 140.6 billion dinars at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
The total credit balance granted by banks increased from 23.0 billion dinars at the end of the fourth quarter 2022 to about 23.5 billion dinars at the end of the first quarter 2023, i.e. a growth rate of 2.4%. Loans and credit facilities granted accounted for 22.3% of the total deposit liabilities. Of the total assets, it accounted for 16.7%, and the balance of loans granted to the private sector at the end of the first quarter of 2023 amounted to 15.8 billion dinars, or 67.3% of the total loans and credit facilities granted, while the balance of loans granted to the public sector constituted the remaining 32.7%, which amounted to Its value is about 7.7 billion dinars.
Combined, commercial banks maintained a good level of liquidity in their coffers during the first quarter of 2023, as the cash balance in bank coffers in January 2023 reached about 2.9 billion dinars, and 3.5 billion dinars at the end of March 2023, and this improvement results from the success of the plan developed by the Central Bank of Libya to solve the crisis. Liquidity.
Customer deposits with banks also increased from 102.1 billion dinars at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 to 105.3 billion dinars at the end of the first quarter of 2023, at a rate of 3.2%. Demand deposits accounted for 81.7% of total deposits, while time deposits accounted for 81.7% of total deposits. 18.0% of total deposits, while savings deposits constituted only 0.3% of total deposits.
With regard to the distribution of these deposits, private sector deposits at the end of the first quarter of 2023 amounted to 59.9 billion dinars, or 56.9% of the total deposits, while the balance of public and government sector deposits constituted the remaining percentage of 43.1%, or 45.3 billion dinars, of which 32.5 One billion dinars are deposits for public sector companies and institutions, and about 12.9 billion dinars are government deposits.
The economic bulletin issued by the Central Bank of Libya for the first quarter of 2023 indicated that public finance revenues amounted to 26.1 billion dinars during the first quarter of 2023, while expenditures amounted to about 18.0 billion dinars, divided into chapters of the general budget (salaries 13.1 billion dinars, administrative 904.2 million dinars, development budget 750.0 million dinars, and support recorded about 3.2 billion dinars). It should be noted that the Central Bank has published a detailed statement of revenue and expenditures for the first quarter of 2023.
The data of the Economic Bulletin for the first quarter of 2023, which is sourced from the Ministry of Planning – Department of Statistics and Census, indicates that the general index of consumer prices increased during the first quarter of 2023 to record 293.5 points, an increase of 8.9 points on an annual basis, compared to 284.6 points during the same quarter of the previous year 2022. The inflation rate was recorded at (3.1%).
The inflation rate also recorded an increase during the first quarter (on an annual basis) in all commodity groups, the most prominent of which were as follows:
The food group prices increased by 3.9%.
– An increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 3.9%.
The prices of the clothing and shoes group increased by 3.3%.
– An increase in the prices of the other goods and services group by 3.0%.
The transportation group prices increased by 2.9%.
Health group prices increased by 2.7%.
The bulletin contained recent data until the year 2022 on the oil sector. The tables in the bulletin show the quantities of crude oil production detailed by operating companies, as well as the quantities of oil exported, in addition to several other tables, including the production and exports of gas and petrochemicals, the quantities of domestic consumption of oil derivatives, and the prices of oil exports by type of crude and export ports.
