The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that Nigerian economy will grow from 0.8 per cent in 2017 to 2.1 per cent by the end 2018, while warning of possible crash in crude oil prices.
According to its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) Report launched in Washington DC on Tuesday, the Fund projected that Nigeria will also grow by 1.9 per cent in 2019.
The IMF, however, advised oil-dependent economies, including Nigeria, to intensify economic diversification as the global body foresees the crash of crude oil prices in the near future.
“Some low-income countries like Mozambique and Nigeria have experienced financial stress or deteriorating loan quality in recent years as growth has moderated and corporate balance sheets have weakened.
“Further deterioration in loan quality would impair credit intermediation and ability of the banking sector to support growth, which would raise the risk of cost recapitalisation and severely burden the already strained public finances,’’ the IMF said.
