London based organisation says Nigeria is out of recession

The World Economics has affirmed that the Nigerian economy is out of recession but “conditions remain difficult for businesses."

The London-based organisation dedicated to producing financial analysis, insight and data relating to questions of key importance to the world economy, made this known on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

“April Sales Managers’ Index (SMI) data suggests that the Nigerian economy is continuing to grow out of the recession which saw 10 months of consecutive contraction in 2016,” it said in a release published on its website.

“The Market Growth Index grew to 58.5 in April as the monthly Sales Growth Index ticked up to 56.7, its highest value since 2015 and representative of rapid growth. Price inflation for April, which is tracked by the Prices Charged Index, remained high at 58.7 – indicative of high levels of inflation – however, a slowing trend has developed for the past 9 months.”

The organisation said “panelists have explained that although conditions remain difficult for businesses, they are adapting to the challenges and the recent changes to the Naira’s FX rate are aiding sales transactions.

“Overall, conditions in Nigeria have improved further over the past month and managers are expressing renewed optimism that the economy will continue to grow and regain strength after the recession.”

Nigeria’s economy plunged into recession at the end of Q2 in 2016 after falling oil prices ate deep into the country’s earnings and caused the Naira to weaken thereby causing inflation to spiral upward.