Nigeria’s Economy Shrank By 0.52 Percent In the First Quarter

LAGOS May 23 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s economy shrank by 0.52 percent year on year in the first quarter, having contracted 0.67 percent in the same quarter of 2016, the statistics office said on Tuesday.

Africa’s largest economy shrank by 1.5 percent in 2016 for its first annual contraction in 25 years, caused by lower oil revenues and a shortage of hard currency.

The National Bureau of Statistics said average oil production in the OPEC member state stood at 1.83 million barrels per day in the first quarter.