According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Business Expectation Survey carried out in July, the business outlook rose by 16.4 index points month on month. However, the overall Confidence Index for July 2020 remained pessimistic/negative at -7.9 index points considering that the Index in the preceding month was -24.3 points2. The sectors surveyed were agriculture, manufacturing, and the construction sectors with a more disaggregated data showing that businesses that are neither import nor export-oriented were the most pessimist in the review period. In a more forward-looking survey, respondents had a more optimistic outlook for the month of August (33.7 index points). Understandably, as society transitions back to normal, business activities are expected to improve. While the business community will no doubt be adversely affected by the pandemic, the several interventions put in place by the government should be leveraged on to support businesses.
August 17, 2020
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 31)
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 33)
Available
reports from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), suggests a
significant reduction in the cost incurred to produce one barrel of crude oil for
the past two years. Specifically, the cost of production reduced by 71 percent
from $78 as at August 2015, to $23 per barrel as at August 2017.
This may be attributable to moderations in operational expenditures, following
repairs and restructuring in the oil region.