Economic growth in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, accelerated faster than expected in the second quarter, driven by growth in the non-oil sector.
Nigeria’s economy grew 3.5% year-on-year in the three months through June, compared with 3.1% in the first quarter
Growth in the three-month period marked the seventh consecutive quarterly expansion and was driven by a 4.8% improvement in the non-oil sector, which makes up the majority of the economy, compared with a 6.1% increase from a year earlier.
Nigeria’s revenue from non-oil exports hit $2.6 billion in the first half of 2022, the highest since 2018.
Data from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) show that this represents a 62.37% increase from the $1.59 billion that was exported during the same period last year.
The oil sector shrunk by 12%. Oil production declined to 1.43 million barrels per day in the second quarter, compared with 1.49 million barrels in the previous three-month period,
The country’s Central Bank has hiked its benchmark rate by 250 basis points to 14% since May in an effort to fight inflation, which hit a near 17-year high of 19.6% in July.
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