Nigeria’s recession deepened in the third quarter, with a 2.24 percent contraction in gross domestic product, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
Oil production fell to an average 1.63 million barrels per day, down from 1.69 million in the second quarter, the office added.
Africa’s largest economy slid into recession for the first time in 25 years in the second quarter, when a slump in crude prices contributed to a 2.06-percent contraction in the economy. Crude sales make up two-thirds of government revenue.
A senior Moody’s analyst told Reuters that Nigeria’s economy could expand by 2.5 percent next year as long it can produce 2.2 million barrels per day – the level at which the government made its budget calculations.
The statistics bureau said the non-oil sector grew by 0.03 percent in real terms in the third quarter.