Economic growth in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, accelerated faster than expected in the second quarter, driven by growth in the non-oil sector.

Nigeria’s economy grew 3.5% year-on-year in the three months through June, compared with 3.1% in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report on Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 10 economists was 2.9%.

Growth in the three-month period marked the seventh consecutive quarterly expansion and was driven by a 4.8% improvement in the non-oil sector, which makes up the majority of the economy, compared with a 6.1% increase from a year earlier.

The oil sector shrunk by 12%. Oil production declined to 1.43 million barrels per day in the second quarter, compared with 1.49 million barrels in the previous three-month period, Adeniran said. Nigeria has been unable to meet its OPEC+ quota this year, partly because of crude theft.

Statistician-General Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran said rising inflation caused growth in Africa’s largest economy to slow from 5.01% in the same period last year.

“The recent rising prices have adversely impacted on the second quarter 2022 performance,” he said in a statement accompanying the data release.

Bloomberg