Nigeria’s economic growth forecast for 2019 has been slashed to 2.1 percent, down from the 2.2 percent forecast made by the World Bank last October. The bank also cited stagnant oil production, high inflation and policy distortions as reasons for the cut in projection. It reflects slower growth in Nigeria and Angola, due to challenges in the oil sector, and subdued investment growth in South Africa, due to low business confidence. Challenges from the external environmentThe external environment for the sub-Saharan region remains challenging, as global growth continues to decelerate, and global uncertainty related to trade disputes between the United States and China remains high. In January this year, the World Bank projected that global economic growth will soften from a downwardly revised 3 percent in 2018 to 2.9 percent in 2019 amid rising downside risks to the outlook.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 09, 2019 12:00 UTC