The latest World Bank Growth forecast has revealed that Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African economies are expected to grow by 3.8% this year on the back of stable prices that have spurred easing by policymakers.
According to the forecast of the bank, the development followed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s easing of interest rates from 27.5 per cent to 27 per cent last month.
The bank upgraded growth forecasts for Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast – all major economies in the region, just bas it also disclose that 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, the bank said in its biannual Africa Pulse report.
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The forecast added that 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%.
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.
