The World Bank has said that Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African economies are expected to grow by a faster 3.8% this year on the back of stable prices that have spurred easing by policymakers.
According to Reuters, the development followed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s easing of interest rates from 27.5% to 27 percent last month.
The Bank upgraded growth forecasts for Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast – all major economies in the region, saying real incomes are also growing at a faster rate this year and into the next two years. “While this marks a gradual recovery from a decade of successive shocks, the rebound has yet to gain strong momentum”, it said, in the report.
The upgrade from 3.5% in April was driven by stabilising foreign exchange and inflation rates in countries like Ethiopia, giving room for interest rate cuts. “Growth will accelerate to an annual average of 4.4% in the next two years, the bank said, slightly up from an initial forecast of 4.3%” the bank said, in its bi-annual ‘Africa Pulse’ report.
Growth prospects for 30 economies out of the 47 that make up the region, as defined by the bank, were revised upwards, the report found. “These favourable conditions are fuelling a recovery in private consumption and investment”, the Bank said in the report. However, fiscal consolidation efforts could curb the pace of recovery in some economies, the report warned. “The median inflation is less than 4%. Moreover, most of the currencies that were cratering relative to the U.S. dollar have now recovered and are stable”, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank, Andrew Dabalen, told a news briefing.
The Regional Economic Outlook, however, faces risks from trade uncertainty sparked by the policies of the U.S. President Donald Trump, high debt burdens, and the need to create jobs for millions of young people coming into the job market. “Trade challenges remain very high. We don’t know how this is going to be resolved because there are lots of negotiations going on,” Dabalen said, citing the expiry of AGOA, a key trade agreement between the United States and African nations.
The World Bank urged governments to focus on the creation of good jobs by improving the general business environment, and nurturing small and mid-sized firms.
