Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stands at 6.4 per cent, expecting to hit 7.85 per cent by end of year.
Sanusi told the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by Goodluck Jonathan at Aso Villa, Abuja that headline inflation picked up at 12.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 but decelerated to 10.2 per cent in the second quarter; while core inflation fell from 12.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to 11.5 per cent in June 2011. Food inflation declined sharply from 12.2 per cent in May, 2011 to 9.2 per cent in June 2011.
Real GDP is estimated at 7.43 per cent and 7.93 per cent for the first and second quarter of 2011, with the oil sector growing at 2.90 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively. The non-oil sector growth is estimated at 8.4 per cent and 8.77 per cent respectively for the first and second quarters.
Largely driven by agriculture, wholesale and retail trade and services contributed 1.92%, 2.13% and 2.39% respectively. The spot price of Nigeria’s reference crude oil, Bonny light, rose from $93.37per barrel at the end of December 2010 to $118.99 in the first and $116.66 in the second quarter of 2011.
Crude oil production in condensates and natural gas liquids has also increased by 8.76% to 2.11million barrels per-day; while the manufacturing GDP growth is estimated at 6.02% and 7.3% in the first and second quarter of 2011 respectively, just as the share of manufacturing turned low at not more than 6% of the total GDP.
Capacity utilisation in estimate jumps by minor at 1.56% to 57.87% with appreciable overall growth in 2010 while GDP growth in 2010 stood at 7.85 percent. But non oil GDP growth in 2010 was higher as it stood at 8.5 percent.
In a bid to restore economic confidence and stabilize the exchange rate in 2010, CBN reports that in the first quarter of 2011, the economy has grown at the rate of 6.4 percent and overall growth projection for this year is put at 7.8 percent.
On inflationary movement the CBN report said that headline inflation in the first and second quarter of this year stood at 12.8 percent but generally the inflation trends has been coming downwards and this is very good for the economy and he said the CBN will continue to maintain those policies that stabilised inflation.
The CBN governor further disclosed that deadline for the recapitalisation of distressed banks is September 30. “Some international investors have already shown interest and agreements have been signed for three of these distressed banks efforts are not spared to ensure the banks are recapitalised.
Meanwhile, Minister of Communications, Labaran Maku, in a breakdown of FEC meeting said that “Oil production has gone up to 2.4 million barrels a day and this will be on the upward swing as we maintain those policies and work hard to stabilise the national economy”.
He harped on CBN’s efforts to transform the credit system in agriculture. “This initiative is to transform credit system in agriculture, and shut up state governments, banks and federal government issuance of loans to farmers to produce crops”.