The Central Bank of Nigeria has said majority of consumers surveyed by it expect the nation’s currency to appreciate in the next 12 months.
The naira has depreciated to 306.55 to the United States dollar at the official market and 362/$1 at the parallel market.
In its Consumer Expectations Survey Report for the third quarter of this year, the CBN said majority of consumers nationwide believed that the next 12 months would not be an ideal time to purchase big-ticket items like motor vehicle and house.
The CBN said, “Most respondents expect the prices of goods and services to rise in the next 12 months, with an index point of 16.7 points. The major drivers are: transportation, education, medical care, electricity, house rent, and telecommunications.
“With indices of -2.6 and 16.4 points, consumers expect borrowing rate to fall while the naira is expected to appreciate in the next 12 months.
According to the report, the unemployment index for the next 12 months remains positive at 25 points in the third quarter, indicating that majority of the consumers expect the unemployment rate to rise in the next 12 months
The Q3 2018 Consumer Expectations Survey was conducted during the period, September 24 to October 4, 2018, covering a sample size of 1,770 households drawn from 207 enumeration areas across the country, with a response rate of 96.9 per cent, the CBN said.
It said the consumers’ overall confidence outlook improved in the third quarter, as more consumers were optimistic in their outlook.
“The index at 1.5 points was 12.0 points higher than the index in the corresponding period of 2017. Some respondents attributed this favourable outlook to improved economic condition. The consumer outlook for the next quarter and next 12 months is positive at 24.7 and 30.1 points, respectively.
“This outlook could be attributed to the expected increase in net household income, the anticipated improvement in Nigeria’s economic conditions, and expectations to save a bit and/or have plenty over savings in the next 12 months.”