Nigerian economy grows over 3% in Q2 as oil output rises

By Chijioke Ohuocha

ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria's economy grew 3.19% in the second quarter of 2024 compared with the same quarter last year, lifted by higher crude oil production and the performance of its services sector, statistics agency data showed on Monday.

The growth rate was quicker than the 2.51% growth recorded in the second quarter of 2023 and the 2.98% growth seen in the first quarter of this year.

But growth is still well short of the 6% targeted by President Bola Tinubu when he assumed office in Africa's most populous country last year.

Tinubu has initiated reforms to try to boost output, which has been sluggish for about a decade, including slashing subsidies and devaluing the country's naira currency.

But the reforms have stoked inflation, triggering cost-of-living protests and prompting the central bank to hike interest rate four times this year.

The National Bureau of Statistics said the services sector grew 3.79% year on year in the second quarter, contributing 58.76% of gross domestic product.

The oil sector, which accounts for the bulk of government revenue and foreign-exchange reserves, expanded 10.15%, while agriculture grew 1.41%. Industrial output rose 3.53%.

Nigeria recorded average daily oil output of 1.41 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the second quarter, up from the daily average of 1.22 mbpd in the same quarter of 2023.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts Nigeria's economy will grow 3.1% in 2024.

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Alexander Winning and Toby Chopra)