Government targets 10.1 per cent inflation for 2016

Finance Minister, Seth Terkper says the government plans to achieve headline inflation of 10.1 per cent in 2016, as against the current high of 17.4 per cent in October 2015.

The target is among the government’s macroeconomic targets for 2016.

The detailed targets are as follows:

• Overall real GDP (including oil) growth of 5.4 percent;
• Non-oil real GDP growth of 5.2 percent;
• An end year inflation target of 10.1 percent;
• Overall budget deficit equivalent to 5.3 percent of GDP; and
• Gross international reserves of not less than three months of import cover of goods and services.

Macroeconomic Targets for the Medium-Term and 2016

The Finance Minister said based on the medium term macroeconomic framework, the specific macroeconomic targets to be pursued for the medium term (2015¬2018) include the following:

• An average real GDP (including oil) growth rate of at least 8.2 percent;
• An average non-oil real GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent;
• An inflation target of 8.0 percent with a band of ±2 percent;
• An overall Budget Deficit of 3.0 percent by 2018; and
• Gross International Reserves which will cover not less than four months of imports of goods and services.