The GDP of Nigeria, an oil-producing country, contracted by 3.62 percent in the third quarter of 2020, after having already declined by 6 percent in the previous quarter, the Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.

"Over the first nine months of 2020, cumulative GDP is therefore down by 2.48%," he added.

The Bureau of Statistics attributed this development to the fall in oil prices as well as the negative impact on the economy of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The contribution of oil to GDP contracted in the third quarter by 13.89% against a decline of 6.63% in the second quarter of 2020.

At the same time, non-oil economic activities fell by 2.51%. The decline stood at 6.05% in the second quarter.

Nigeria's economy had already been declared recession in 2016, for the first time in two decades. It had recovered in 2017 but had been idling ever since.

The International Monetary Fund said it forecasts a decline in Nigeria's GDP of 5.4 percent for 2020, while the government is forecasting a contraction of 8.9 percent.

This country is Africa's largest oil producer, with about two million barrels produced per day, but the Covid-19 outbreak and falling fuel prices have reduced production to around 1.4 million barrels.