Ghana’s economic activity strengthens, but business confidence eases to 12.6% – BoG

Economic activity in Ghana recorded a strong improvement in the first quarter of 2026, with the Bank of Ghana’s Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) expanding by 12.6% year-on-year in March 2026. This marks a sharp rise from the 2.3% growth recorded during the same period in 2025. According to the Bank’s latest real sector data, the expansion was largely supported by increased private sector credit, stronger consumer spending, higher industrial output, and improved performance in external trade. However, despite the positive macroeconomic indicators, the Central Bank’s latest confidence surveys for April 2026 showed a slight weakening in sentiment among both consumers and businesses, even though overall confidence levels remained relatively strong. The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 113.4 in April 2026 from 117.7 in February 2026, while the Business Confidence Index also eased from 110.1 to 108.1 over the same period. The Bank attributed the dip partly to concerns linked to the economic implications of the ongoing Middle East conflict. Additionally, the Bank’s May Summary of Economic and Financial Data indicated that the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slowed to 50.3 in April 2026, down from 51.4 in March, signalling a modest slowdown in the pace of expansion within the private sector.