A survey by the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown that business organisations were pessimistic about the economy in September.
The Statistics Department of the CBN disclosed this in its ‘September 2020 Business Expectations Survey Report’ on Thursday.
Part of the report said the highlights of the survey showed the “respondent firms expressed pessimism on the macro economy.”
It said, “Respondents’ outlook on volume of total order, access to credit and financial conditions (working capital) were negative. However, their outlook on volume of business activity and average capacity utilisation were positive in September 2020.
“Respondent firms identified insufficient power supply, unfavourable economic climate, financial problems, high interest rate, competition, unclear economic laws, unfavourable political climate, insufficient demand, access to credit and lack of equipment as major factors constraining business activities in the current month.
“Respondent firms expect the naira to depreciate in the current month but to appreciate in the next month, next two months and next six months.
“Inflation level is expected to rise in the next six and 12 months, while borrowing rate is expected to rise in the current month and next month, next two months and the next six months.”
The CBN said the September survey was conducted online from September 7 to 11, with a sample size of 1,050 businesses nationwide.
A response rate of 99.6 per cent was achieved, and the sample covered agriculture/services, manufacturing, wholesale/retail trade, and construction sectors.
The respondent firms were made up of small, medium and large corporations covering both import-oriented and export-oriented businesses.
