Niger economic growth seen at 6.3 pct in 2014 - IMF

NIAMEY (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has predicted economic growth for Niger this year of 6.3 percent following a mission to the oil and uranium producer, below the 7.5 percent the government had forecast for the year. The IMF said growth, which was 4.1 percent last year, would be driven by mining and agriculture, and that inflation should remain in check if current policies were maintained. Insecurity in the north, where the country's uranium mines are concentrated, and power shortages weighed on growth last year. The government does however expect better production from its Agadem oil field, a joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation. "Fiscal targets such as basic balance, government revenue, spending on poverty, and reduction in domestic payment arrears were met, and some of them with comfortable margins," the IMF said in a statement issued late on Friday. The IMF warned, however, that the country remained vulnerable to the impact of security threats and weather extremes such as floods and drought. Niger frequently battles food crises due to failed rains and has had to boost defence spending in recent years to tackle the spillover of conflicts in neighbouring Libya and Mali.