Nigeria's economic growth slowed slightly in the third quarter to 7.4 percent year-on-year as oil output dipped but a rise in headline inflation in October strengthened expectations for an interest rate rise next week, data showed on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in Africa's second-largest economy slowed from 7.72 percent in the second quarter but was in line with expectations.

"While the non-oil sector grew with major contributions to growth coming from agriculture, wholesale/retail trade, telecommunications, manufacturing and finance/insurance sectors, the oil sector output however recorded a negative growth during the third quarter of 2011 arising from a decrease oil production," an NBS document said.

Consumer inflation in Africa's most populous nation rose to 10.5 percent year-on-year in October, up from 10.3 percent the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Food prices, the largest contributor to the consumer index, rose 9.7 percent year-on-year in October from 9.5 percent the previous month.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which will hold a rate-setting meeting next week, has said it would prefer consumer inflation to remain in single digits.

Analysts expect the CBN to raise rates again next week. It has increased its benchmark interest rate six times already this year to help curb high inflation and support the naira currency, which plunged to its weakest ever against the U.S. dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market last month.

Finance Minister and Coordinator of the Economy Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has promised to unveil the 2012 budget this month, which is expected to show an increase in overall spending, while plans to remove subsidies on petrol beginning next year are also expected to put upward pressure on inflation.

Africa's largest oil exporter produced an average of 2.36 million barrels per day of crude in the third quarter 2011, down from 2.49 million bpd in the same quarter of 2010, NBS said.

The statistics bureau said the non-oil sector increased its contribution to GDP last quarter, rising 8.81 percent from a year earlier, compared with 8.38 percent growth in the corresponding quarter of 2010, "largely driven by improved , agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, wholesale/retail trade, finance & insurance and other services sectors."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201111161022.html

Let me tell you why Nigeria will still survive:

We do not hope for the best, but whenever the most terrible news come to us - Nigerians will just hope its not the worst.

We believe it could always be worst than this. So why kill yourself when the worst is not yet here. And this is the reason once it appreciate by 1% someone will roll out the drums.

What are all these figures and probabilities? When did Nigeria start having an economy again?
Nigeria ceased to have an economy after the stock market crash of 2008 and since then an economy hasn't existed, so why all these boolshit figures?

Tell these to the common man on the street (the average majority) and see if he gives a flying ffuck.