Nigeria’s central bank expects the economy to expand by 4.17% this year, Governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Thursday, driven by ongoing reforms and stabilising inflation.
Reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, including scrapping a subsidy on petrol and twice devaluing the naira currency, have stoked inflation in Africa’s most populous country.
Inflation, currently at 34.8%, is expected to decline as the reforms starts to yield results, Cardoso said at a conference.
He also said foreign exchange reserves were seen rising gradually, driven by increased oil production. Oil output is forecast to reach 2.3 million barrels per day by mid-year, Cardoso said.
Nigeria recorded foreign exchange inflows exceeding $6 billion in 2024, Cardoso said, taking its foreign exchange reserves to more than $40 billion.
Cardoso said the central bank’s priority remained maintaining price stability and bolstering market confidence. To this end, the bank aims to enhance transparency and efficiency within the foreign exchange market.
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“With limited opportunities for FX arbitrage, we expect that there will be more appetite for real sector development,” he added.
Source: Reuters
