Abuja — THE President Umaru Yar'Adua administration recorded an operational budget surplus of N96.63 billion in the first quarter of the year, the Central Bank (CBN) revealed last weekend.

According to the CBN First Quarter Economic Report for 2008, the Federal Government retained revenue from total receipts stood at N560.73 billion while total expenditure was N464.11 billion.

"At N1,574.30 billion, oil receipts constituted 83.3 per cent of the total, representing an increase of 33.2 and 23.1 per cent over the budget estimate and the level in the preceding quarter, respectively.

"The rise in oil receipts relative to the budget estimate was attributed to the persistent rise in oil prices at the international oil market. However, non-oil receipts, at N315.06 billion or 16.7 per cent of the total, was lower than the receipts in the preceding quarter and the budget estimate by 25.0 and 3.8 per cent, respectively.

"The fall in non-oil receipts relative to the preceding quarter was attributed to the decline in independent revenue of the Federal Government and companies income tax (CIT). Federal Government retained revenue for the first quarter of 2008 was N560.73 billion, while total expenditure was N464.11 billion.

"Thus, the fiscal operations of the Federal Government was estimated to have resulted in a surplus of N96.63 billion, compared with the proportionate budgeted deficit of N38.87 billion and the actual deficit of N240.70 in the preceding quarter," the apex bank said.

It put aggregate output growth measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) estimate at 6.49 per cent during the first quarter of 2008, compared with 7.82 per cent in the preceding quarter.

"The growth was driven by the non-oil sector which was estimated at 9.67 per cent. Provisional data indicated growth in monetary aggregates during the review quarter. Broad money supply (M2) and narrow money supply (M1) increased by 34.8 and 40.2 per cent relative to the preceding quarter. The increase in M2 was attributed to the rise in foreign assets (net), aggregate domestic credit and other assets (net) of the banking system," it said.

The bank reported mixed developments in banks' deposit and lending rates in the first quarter of year, as it indicated that the spread between the weighted average deposit and maximum lending rates widened from 15.01 percentage points in the preceding quarter to 15.20 percentage points.

On the other hand, the margin between the average savings deposit and maximum lending rates was said to have narrowed from 10.77 to 10.31 percentage points during the quarter, adding: "The weighted average inter-bank call rate rose from 8.25 per cent in the preceding quarter to 10.30 per cent at end- March 2008, reflecting the liquidity squeeze in the interbank funds market."

The bank's report showed a decline the nation's crude oil production, including condensates and natural gas liquids, which was estimated at 2.05 million barrels per day (mbd) or 186.55 million barrels for the quarter, compared with 2.13mbd in the preceding quarter.

It estimated crude export to be 1.60mbd or 145.60 million barrels for the quarter, while deliveries to the refineries for domestic consumption remained at 0.445mbd or 40.495 million barrels for the quarter.

Foreign exchange inflow and outflow through the CBN amounted to $12.89 billion and $4.19 billion, respectively, resulting in a net inflow of $8.7 billion during the quarter. Foreign exchange sales by the CBN to the authorised dealers fell to $1.64 billion from $3.37 billion in the preceding quarter.

According to the bank, "the weighted average exchange rate of the Naira vis-à-vis the US dollar, appreciated by 2.3 per cent to N118.04 per dollar at the WDAS. In the bureaux de change segment of the market, the naira also appreciated from N123.89 per dollar to N119.79 per dollar.

"Non-oil export earnings by Nigeria's top 100 exporters amounted to $387.00 million, indicating an increase of 40.5 per cent over the level in the preceding quarter. The development was attributed largely to the rise in the prices of all the commodities traded at the international commodities market during the period," it said.

At N891.8 billion, currency in circulation fell by 7.2 per cent in March 2008 from the level in December 2007. The fall was traceable largely to the decline of 7.7 per cent in currency outside the banking system during the period.

The industrial sector was reported to have declined in the period under review as the estimated index of industrial production fell marginally by 0.1 and 1.7 per cent from its levels in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2007, respectively.