KAMPALA - Uganda's economy grew 6.8% in the first six months of the 2022/23 fiscal year that runs until the end of June, up from 3.7% in the same period of the previous fiscal year, the finance ministry said on Monday.

Growth was mainly driven by the services, agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.

The East African country is on track to achieve a growth rate of 5.3% for the whole fiscal year, helped by easing inflationary pressures, the finance ministry added in a report.

Uganda plans to start pumping crude oil in 2025 from fields in the country's west near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping that will boost economic growth further to more than 7%.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema Editing by Alexander Winning)