The global economy grew by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 (2016Q4) relative to 2.5 percent in 2016Q3, due to rising investment and consumption demands in developed and emerging economies as well as a rise in commodity prices. However, over the entire year, global GDP growth stood at 2.6 percent in 2016, relative to the growth of 3.09 percent recorded in 2015. Notably, output grew progressively in the US over the year, while the steady growth recorded in the UK since the start of the year stalled in 2016Q4. Also, the declining growth recorded in France since 2015 took a positive turn in 2016Q4, the rest of the Eurozone witnessed a fall in output in the quarter. While emerging economies recorded mixed experiences, many Sub-Saharan African countries showed signs of recovery in the period.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Internally Generated Revenue by states increased in 2017H1. The IGR increased from N392.1 billion in 2016H1, to N396.9 billion in 2017H1, a slight 1.2 percentage half Year-on-year growth. Also, N149.5 billion was generated in 2017Q3. Lagos state remains top in internal revenue generation, with a significant 42.3 percent share of total IGR in the review half year. The improvements in IGR may be attributable to efficient revenue collection by each reported state from the various sources of internal revenue: taxes, fines and fees, licenses, earnings & sales, rent on government property, interests and dividends, among others. 

On a Month-on-Month basis, average growth rate of selected food prices decreased in October 2017.  Precisely, contracting by 1.24 percent in October, average growth rate fell from 0.08 percent recorded in September 2017. Notably, the contraction reflected in the food sub-index of the headline inflation for October 2017. The marginal decrease in the prices of selected food items may be in line with seasonal levels, as the harvest season reaches its peak, thus making food items relatively available at various demand levels. Going forward, investment towards the provision of better farming inputs, technology, financing, and value addition across the agricultural value chain could help improve yield output and food security all through the year.