Ghana: Economy picks up speed in Q3 2016

Ghana’s economy gathered momentum in the third quarter of the year, after a blip in the previous quarter had seen growth slow markedly. GDP expanded 4.0% in Q3 2016 compared to the same period of the previous year, rising from the 2.5% growth recorded in Q2. Q2’s lower growth was mainly due to a halt in oil production caused by a technical problem, which has since been resolved.

According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Q3’s acceleration was driven by growth in the industrial sector, which swung from a 5.0% contraction in Q2 to a 3.9% expansion in Q3 on the back of higher oil production. In contrast, growth in the services sector moderated from 6.0% in Q2 to 4.7% in Q3, while growth in the agricultural sector also slowed from 4.1% in Q2 to 2.3% in Q3.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect the economy to expand 6.2% in 2017, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s estimate. For 2018, the panel predicts that the economy will expand 6.6%.