(Ecofin Agency) - The Congolese government announced in a statement released on August 19 that it has scaled down its growth forecasts for 2016 to 4.3% from 5.3% earlier, as a result of low commodity prices.

The authorities which initially expected a 9% growth this year has cut its projections thrice, in August and June, as demand for commodities slumped due to slowdown of Chinese economy and lower prices of copper, cobalt, tin and diamond.

The economy of Africa’s top copper producer depends highly of commodities which represent 95% of the country’s export revenues.

Congo’s copper output fell by 14% in the first half of 2016 while cobalt’s plunged by 13%.

The government projects 3.3% inflation over the whole year, against less than 1% in 2015.