The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria’s economy will expand a little faster than its earlier projection. In its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released on Tuesday at the ongoing spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group, it says Nigeria’s economy will grow by 2.1 per cent in 2019, an increase of 0.1 per cent points from the 2 per cent projection given in January. In the WEO update released in January, the fund had cut its growth projection for Nigeria’s economy from the 2.3 per cent contained in the October 2018 report to 2 per cent blaming softening oil prices.
“In sub-Saharan Africa, growth is expected to pick up to 3.5 per cent in 2019 and 3.7 per cent in 2020 (from 3 per cent in 2018),” the report reads. “The projection is 0.3 percentage point and 0.2 percentage point lower for 2019 and 2020, respectively, than in the October 2018 WEO, reflecting downward revisions for Angola and Nigeria with the softening of oil prices. “Growth prospects for commodity exporters are weighed down by the soft outlook for commodity prices, including for Nigeria and Angola, where growth is expected to reach about 2.6 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, in the medium term.”