The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) has again revised growth projections for Nigeria and other sub - Saharan African countries , saying that the action reflected challenging macroeconomic conditions in the continent ’ s largest economies , which are adjusting to lower commodity revenues .
In an update on its latest World Economic Outlook ( WEO ) , the IMF also said that said that the uncertainty triggered by the United Kingdom ’ s unexpected exit from the European Union (EU ) has worsened global outlook for 2016 and 2017 and could impact growth for both years .
Citing Nigeria where it said economic activity was now projected to contract in 2016 , as the country ’ s economy adjusts to foreign currency shortages occasioned by lower oil receipts , low power generation , and weak investor confidence , the Fund said the revisions for the largest low income country are the main reason for the downgrade in growth prospects for the lowincome developing countries group .
According to the Fund , while it was still early to quantify the potential repercussions of the UK ’ s exit from the EU , it was cutting global growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017 by 0 . 1 percentage points relative to the April 2016 WEO , to 3 . 1 per cent and 3 . 4 per cent , respectively, based on the assumption that the exit will impact growth . It, however , said that outlook was worse for advanced economies , which were down by 0 . 1 percentage points in 2016 and 0 . 2 percentage points in 2017 .
