Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, this week managed to climb out of recession. However, its recovery is seen as fragile.
Ruben Nizard, an economist at credit insurer Coface, said: “Exposed to internal and external headwinds, Nigeria’s economic woes are not over; the recovery is still fragile.” The return to growth in sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest economy could prove short-lived, he said, while Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, expanded in the second quarter, ending its worst slump in 25 years as agricultural and oil output increased.
GDP in Africa’s largest crude producer grew 0.55% in the three months through June from a year earlier, compared with a revised 0.9% contraction in the first quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said. This ends five straight quarters of contractions that also saw the economy decline 1.6% last year, the first such drop since 1991.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts growth of 0.8% this year as output of oil climbs and as supply of foreign currency, needed by manufacturers to import inputs, continues to improve. Ashbourne said Nigeria’s growth remained weak and he was forecasting growth in the country of 1.2% this year.