Q1 2020 GDP: Overall Growth Performance Weighed Down By The Non-Oil Sector

[Nicole y-harry]

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Q1-2020 GDP data which reflected a growth of 1.87% in real terms against 2.10% recorded in the same period in 2019. This is probably indicative of the 3.4% contraction predicted by the IMF for FY-2020. Oil sector growth settled at 5.04% YoY vs 6.36% YoY in Q4-2019. Overall growth performance was weighed down by the non-oil sector (1.87% YoY vs 2.55% YoY in Q4-19), which fell to the lowest point since seven (7) quarters. The decline in output can be attributed to the impact of the global health crisis which has led to a plunge in internal economic activities and a significant slowdown in international trade. Hence, global demand for crude oil also reduced with a significant drop in oil prices. In comparison with Q4-2019 GDP data, Q1-2020 is lagging by -0.68%.