Friday 4th April , 2014 8:11 am
The Bank of Ghana says it is worried about waning consumer and business sentiment in the country.
The central bank fears the development as well as tightened credit conditions could impact on its outlook of the economy.
Latest surveys conducted by the Bank of Ghana indicate softening business and consumer sentiments.
The softening of Consumer Confidence has been attributed to increases in utility and fuel price hikes.
Businesses are also less optimistic about achieving revenue, sales and employment targets as well as capital outlay.
According to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana, disruptions in the energy sector and utility price shocks, as well as falling gold production and prices, took their toll on growth last year.
Growth is expected to stay below par for this year, reflecting the lingering energy sector challenges and other supply side shocks.
Still on growth, the updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) suggests a relative pickup in economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2013 even though the pace of general economic activity slowed down relative to the previous year.
The index grew by 6.8 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter compared with a growth of 8.2 percent for the same period in 2012.
The main drivers were Port activity, DMBs credit to the private sector, Domestic VAT, Exports, and Sales of key manufacturing companies.
By: Vivian Kai Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana