IMF Lowers Nigeria’s Growth Projection to 1.9%

• IMF Lowers Nigeria’s Growth Projection to 1.9%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered Nigeria’s growth projection for 2018 to 1.9 percent, according to the latest World Economic Report published on Monday by the fund.

The projection was lower than the 2.1 percent projected in July 2018.

According to the fund, Nigeria’s inflation will rise to 12.4 percent by the end of 2018 and 13.5 percent in 2019.

“In Nigeria, inflation is projected to fall to 12.4 percent in 2018, from 16.5 percent in 2017, and to rise to 13.5 percent in 2019,” the report read.

This, the fund attributed to tighter monetary policy and rising food prices amid a possible surge in election spending.

Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, deputy director at IMF’s research department, said global growth will slow down to 3.7 percent this year and in 2019.

“There are clouds on the horizon. Growth has proven to be less balanced than we had hoped. Not only have some downside risks we identified in the last WEO been realized, the likelihood of further negative shocks to our growth forecast has risen.” Maurice Obstfeld, IMF Chief Economist, told reporters in Bali.