International Monetary Fund has warned that Nigeria urgently needed a coherent set of policies for the economy to thrive in the months ahead.
The IMF, in a statement by its Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Amine Mati, further cautioned that Nigeria’s economic outlook remained vulnerable, adding that the country’s inflation rate would pick up in the second half of the year.
Mati gave this verdict on behalf of the IMF in an End-of-Mission statement, after leading the global body’s staff team on a visit to Nigeria between June 27 to July 9, 2018, to discuss recent economic and financial developments, update macroeconomic projections, and review reform implementation.
He disclosed that higher oil prices and short-term portfolio inflows had provided relief from external and fiscal pressures, noting however, that Nigeria’s recovery remained challenging.
According to him, the country’s foreign reserves remained stable at about $47 billion, supported by some convergence in existing foreign exchange windows, and despite some reversal of foreign inflows since April.
He also acknowledged that inflation declined to its lowest level in more than two years, with Real GDP expanding by two per cent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of last year.