29 August 2018 :Confidence over the health of the largest economy in Africa was dealt a blow after economic growth decelerated in the second quarter of 2018.

Nigeria’s GDP disappointed in Q2 by slowing to 1.5% from the 1.95% achieved in the first quarter of 2018. Although growth during the second quarter was mainly driven by the services sector and higher than when compared to Q2 of 2017, this did little to shake off jitters over the growth outlook. With uncertainty likely to heighten ahead of Nigeria’s presidential elections, and US-China trade tensions still impacting global sentiment, Nigeria remains exposed to downside risks.

If inflation starts to rebound amid election spending, the Central Bank of Nigeria could be forced to maintain status quo on interest rates for the rest of this quarter.

Source: Lukman Otunuga, Research Analyst at FXTM

Reporting for EasyKobo on Wednesday ,29 August 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria