Nigeria's Economy Records 6.99% Growth, says NBS
Nigeria's economy grew by 6.99 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year as against 7.76 per cent in the same quarter of 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday in its latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates.
The GDP growth, which was up from 6.48 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, was however; lower than the initial forecast of 7.09 per cent for the period under review.
Both the oil and non-oil sectors witnessed decreased output during the fourth quarter.
But nominal GDP for the fourth quarter was estimated at N10, 593, 714, 64 million as against N9, 554,854.69 million in the corresponding quarter of 2011.
According to the NBS, 'compared with third quarter results, the economy soared by 0.44 per cent, driven largely by the non-oil sector, which grew by 8.21 per cent in real terms, although that was about 0.89 per cent lower than the 9.10 per cent in same quarter of last year.
'On the other hand, the oil sector contributed 12.59 per cent to real GDP in the fourth quarter as against 13.42 per cent in the third quarter and 13.57 per cent in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.'
It reported that daily crude oil production averaged 2.14 million barrels per day as against 2.44 million barrels per day in the corresponding quarter in 2011.
The NBS said the figures combined with their associated gas components, translated into a growth rate of -0.79 per cent in oil GDP in the fourth quarter compared with the -0.08 per cent for the corresponding period in 2011.
Production in the oil and gas sector was said to have declined to -0.79 per cent in the fourth quarter as against 0.08 per cent previously.
The NBS said: 'The Nigerian oil sector had witnessed levels of disruptions due to facility shut downs. For example, the activities of vandals and oil theft have affected production of Bonny Light and Forcados grades as well as Qua Iboe crude oil production.
'However, the sector also benefited immensely from the relative stability in international crude oil market price and the exchange rate of naira against the dollar.'
Meanwhile, the non-oil sector growth rate of 7.55 per cent was marginally higher than third quarter figures. The decline in the non-oil sector in the fourth quarter was blamed on decline in activities in the wholesale & retail trade and real estate.