ECONOMY: Nigeria out of recession in 4th quarter, says analyst

Nigeria's economy is seen out of recession at the end of the fourth quarter of the year as the Africa's biggest economy made efforts to reduce currency risk in the wake of improved dollar supply and falling inflation rate, head of Quantum Global Research has said.
"Nigeria should bottom out of recession, say by the fourth quarter of the year and achieve the projection of 0.8 percent growth rate," Mthuli Ncube, former African Development Bank vice president and chief executive of Quantum Global Research said.
The West African nation has been in recession since last year, largely due to low oil prices and militant attacks on the country's Niger Delta energy facilities. Oil
The central bank has been intervening on the official market in recent months to try to narrow the spread between rates on the official market and black market. It has sold over $5 billion since February.
Ncube said the outlook for Nigeria economy remains bright considering the anticipated stability in global oil price and improve dollar liquidity in the forex market.
"My expectation is that Nigeria will improve," Ncube said, adding that "I don't expect too much downside to the oil market rather am expecting some upside due to data showing demand outweigh supply."
"The establishment of the investor currency window has helped to reduce pressure on the local currency and reduce the country's currency risk and coupled with the falling inflation, the economy is on the path of recovery," Ncube said at the unveiling of its firm Africa investment index in Lagos.
He commended the central bank for the establishment of the investor forex window which he said has helped reduce volatility in the market, leading to the convergence of the local currency rates.
On the newly released Africa investment index, he believed ranking will contribute to arsenal of index out there to help investors take an informed decision on investment in the continent.