Business sentiments continue to improve - BoG survey shows

The Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) latest business confidence survey has shown that business sentiments continued to improve in October, driven by improved company prospects and gradual recovery in demand for goods and services.

The central bank’s business confidence index, which gauges the level of optimism among firm managers, improved from 90.9 in August to 94.4 in October.

The improvement confirms the results of the third-quarter survey by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), whose business confidence index also increased from 86.6 in the second quarter of the year to 96.2 during the third quarter.

According to the BoG, consumer confidence has also risen above pre-lockdown levels, supported by rebounding economic activity following the gradual relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.

Meanwhile, after contracting in March–May, the BoG’s real Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) recorded an annual growth of 10.5 percent in September compared with 4.2 percent a year ago.

The central bank noted that the key drivers of economic activity during the period were construction activities, manufacturing, and credit to the private sector.

Addressing the press on Monday, BoG governor Dr. Ernest Addison expressed optimism about the economic outlook, but cautioned that the government’s rising financing needs in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis posed a risk to macroeconomic stability.