BoG’s CIEA down by 13.1%
The Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) for the month of July 2021 recorded an annual growth rate of 20.0 percent compared to the 3.9 percent recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.
The recorded 20.0 percent CIEA for the month of July is indicative of a 16.1 percentage points increment for the period under review.
The increment in the CIEA was on the back of a sharp pickup in economic activities with improvements witnessed in industrial production activities, domestic consumption, import activities, construction activities and a rise in air-passenger arrivals.
However, compared to the 33.1 percent recorded CIEA for the month of May – quarter on quarter basis – the recorded 20.0 percent CIEA for the month of July represents a contraction of some 13.1 percentage points.
The contraction in the BoG’s CIEA is unlikely to be due to the Covid-19 pandemic as the virus has been largely contained with its adverse effects on economic activities subsided due to the steady progress of government’s vaccination exercise across the country.
It however, could be attributed to the mixed consumer and business sentiments with regards to economic activities as revealed in the BoG’s Confidence Survey.
Per the Bank’s Confidence Survey, consumer confidence declined by 9.2 points year-on-year recording 91.8 points in August 2021 as against the 101.0 points recorded in August 2020.
Business confidence on the other hand increased by 2.3 points ending August 2021 with 93.2 points as against the recorded 90.9 points in August 2020.
The BoG’s CIEA measures changes in the level of economic activities and in the pandemic era, the economy’s recovery from the negative impacts of the Covid.
