Nigeria’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter as oil production fell.
Gross domestic product in Africa’s largest oil producer expanded 1.5 percent in the three months through June from a year earlier, Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in a report released on Twitter Monday. That compares with 1.95 percent in the first quarter.
Oil output fell to 1.84 million barrels a day in the period. That’s the lowest since the first quarter of last year, when the Nigerian economy was contracting. While its accounts for 9 percent of gross GDP, crude is the West African nation’s biggest source of foreign income.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed a budget of 9.1 trillion naira ($25 billion) for this year, the nation’s biggest yet, and increased investment in roads, rail, ports and power to boost growth. To further spur growth, the central bank on Thursday pledged to invest in corporate bonds aimed at financing projects in agriculture and manufacturing.
The regulator has kept interest rates at a record of 14 percent for more than two years to fight inflation that at 11.1 percent in July remains above target. Policy makers might increase rates given price risks from spending ahead of general elections planned for February, according to central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor Joseph Nnanna.
Bloomberg