ACCRA, June 11 (Reuters) – Ghana’s economy grew faster in the first quarter of the year, driven by growth in the services sector and an agricultural recovery, the West African country’s statistics agency said on Wednesday.

Gross Domestic Product in the world’s second biggest cocoa producer grew by 5.3% year-on-year in the January to March, the data showed, compared with a revised 4.9% in the same quarter last year.

“This momentum reflects more than just numbers. It signals recovery and the confidence of an economy finding its rhythm in a very complex global environment,” government statistician Alhassan Iddrisu told journalists. .

Ghana is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation.

Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said in March that spending cuts should allow Ghana to achieve real GDP growth of at least 4% by the end of 2025. Last year’s economic growth was 5.7%.

(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Emmanuel Bruce;Writing by Ayen Deng BiorEditing by Bate Felix and Louise Heavens)