The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the Nigerian government to revise its proposed 2025 budget to account for global oil prices that are currently lower than anticipated. This recommendation was disclosed in the IMF’s Article IV Consultation Report on Nigeria, released on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
The IMF’s counsel comes despite an upward revision of Nigeria’s growth rate projection to 3.4 percent from 3.2 percent. This optimistic adjustment is attributed to increased oil output, which Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, stated stands at 1.745 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), alongside a falling inflation rate, recorded at 22.97 percent in May.
However, the Fund emphasized that Nigeria’s “2025 budget needs to be recalibrated to lower oil prices” to align with current market realities. The country’s N54.99 trillion 2025 budget was initially benchmarked at a crude oil price of $75 per barrel.
As of Wednesday morning, Brent crude futures were trading around $68.68, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures stood at approximately $67.04. DAILY POST reports that the only instance crude oil prices reached the $75 per barrel mark was during the peak of the conflict between Israel and Iran in mid-June 2025.
