Nigeria’s economic growth picks up pace
NIGERIA’S economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as oil output increased.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Africa’s largest crude producer expanded 1.4 percent in the three months to September from a year earlier, compared with a revised 0.72 percent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday in a report.
The median of 13 economists’ estimates in a survey was for 1.5 percent growth.
The economy contracted 1.6 percent in 2016, the worst annual slump in 25 years.
Forecasts The International Monetary Fund forecasts GDP growth of 0.8 percent this year and 1.9 percent in 2018 as output of oil, Nigeria’s biggest export, increases and as more foreign currency becomes available for factory imports.
Oil production increased to 2.03 million barrels a day in the third quarter from a revised 1.87 barrels a day, the statistics office said.
The crude sector contributed 10.04 percent to real GDP, according to the NBS.
President Muhammadu Buhari asked lawmakers to approve a 16 percent increase in budget spending to 8.6 trillion naira (R331 billion) for 2018.
Boost economy Buhari wants to invest about one third of the budget in roads, rail, ports and power to boost the economy.
The faster economic growth may allow the central bank to continue its tight monetary policy to fight inflation that has been above the upper end of the 6 percent to 9 percent target range for more than two years. The monetary policy committee is scheduled to announce its final rate decision for the year today.
The MPC has kept the benchmark rate at a record high of 14 percent since July 2016. – Bloomberg