Nigerian businesses have shown confidence in the macroeconomic environment but foresee a further decline in the naira’s value this month and in the first quarter of 2025.
This projection was highlighted in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Business Expectation Survey Report for November 2024.
The survey revealed mixed sentiments, noting that while firms remained optimistic overall, their expectations around business activity volume, financial conditions, access to credit, total orders, and capacity utilization leaned towards the negative.
The report stated, “The overall confidence index (CI) on the macroeconomy indicated that businesses were optimistic in November 2024. Businesses expect the Naira to depreciate in the current month, next month and next 3 months but appreciate in the next 6 months. The optimism on business outlook in the current month is driven by the opinion of respondents from all the sectors. The Construction Sector expressed optimism on own operations in the review month. The outlook of respondents on the volume of business activities, the volume of total order, financial conditions, and access to credit were negative in the review month. Volume of business activity respondents expressed optimism on volume of business activity for the next month and subsequent periods under review.”
The report further revealed that businesses anticipate hiring more workers in December 2024, with the agriculture sector presenting the highest potential for growth.
However, in its latest Consumer Expectation Survey Report, the CBN noted that consumers were less confident about the macroeconomic landscape in November.
The report detailed households’ projections of rising costs for transportation, rent, vehicles, home purchases, and medical expenses this month.
Additionally, while most respondents (61.1% for non-durable goods and 57.6% for durable items) acknowledged that prices remain high, they expect a gradual decline in the coming months.
