Nigeria's economy is recovering having climbed out of the low oil price shock environment, Fitch Ratings said Thursday as it affirmed the country's credit rating.
The global credit rating agency said Nigeria's economic growth turned positive in the second half of 2017.
Total oil production, including crude and condensate, recovered to reach 2.1 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of last year.
'Increasing oil receipts and import compression have buoyed Nigeria's trade surplus and brought the current account surplus to an estimated 2.2 percent of GDP in 2017,' Fitch Ratings said in a statement.
'Nigeria's reserves position has increased to a four-year high due to stronger oil receipts and considerable hard-currency bond placements,' it added.
The rating agency said it expects Nigeria's economy to grow by 2.4 percent this year, and 3 percent next year, noting the economy had expanded by 4.8 percent for five years prior to 2016.
Fitch said it affirms Nigeria's long-term foreign currency rating at 'B+' with a negative outlook.
It said the outlook could be turned to stable if structural reforms are successfully implemented, for instance in increasing economic diversification, or if significant reforms are achieved in the petroleum sector.
The agency warned that Nigeria's rating could be downgraded if the political and security environment in the country worsens and if oil production is reduced for a prolonged period.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr