(Ecofin Agency) - Senegal’s GDP should exceed 6% in 2017, for the third consecutive year. This was disclosed on Monday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a statement.

Resulting from economic stability, this performance was mainly driven by services, tourism and agriculture. Moreover, inflation which was quite low, in conformity with WAEMU’s convergence criteria, contributed to a boost in domestic demand.

In the same way, budget deficit keeps decreasing, in continuation of the past years’ trend. Thus, in 2017, this gap should stand at 3.7% of the country’s GDP.

However, a matter that slightly concerns the IMF is the indebtedness pace of the nation. Current deficit should increase to 7.8% of GDP, this year, as a result of the rise in oil prices and the weak increase of exports.

Fiacre E. Kakpo