Oil Slump: Nigeria's Loss, Africa's Gain - Fitch

According to Fitch Ratings Ltd, growth in Nigeria and Angola, the only sub-Saharan African members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, will slow next year due to weaker crude prices.

Fitch’s 2015 growth projection for Nigeria was revised down to 5.2 percent from 6.4 percent, Carmen Altenkirch and Richard Fox, London-based sovereign analysts at the ratings company, said in a statement today. Nigeria, along with Angola and Gabon, will also suffer from worsening current account and fiscal balances, they said.

Other countries in sub-Saharan Africa will benefit from the 44% plunge in oil prices this year, boosting the region’s growth to 5 percent in 2015 from 4.5 percent this year, Altenkirch and Fox said.

“Most sub-Saharan African countries are significant oil importers,” they said. “Oil makes up around 20 percent of the import bill in Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Seychelles and Ethiopia.”

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