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Bank of Ghana First Deputy Governor Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari has said that contrary to fears that it will take some time for the economy to get back on track, data available from the Central Bank suggests the economy is on track. recovery.
According to him, although the country experienced a contraction of economic activities in the second quarter of this year, the Central Bank’s Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) shows a significant recovery in the third quarter.
He said that “what we have seen in the Central Bank and one of the advantages we have is having access to what we call High Frequency Leading Indicators. By putting together all those high-frequency leading indicators, we’ve been able to put together what we call the Composite Index of Economic Activity, which helps us track short-term dynamics in economic activities and gives us an idea of where economic activity is heading.
“Even though we saw a contraction in the second quarter, the data that we are collecting from the composite index of economic activity and high frequency data, including private sector credit, manufacturing, sales and a few other things, shows that we are starting to see some a significant recovery already in the first months of the third quarter until September and in fact throughout the third quarter, “he said.
Ghana’s economy as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic contracted 3.2 percent this year compared to the growth rate of 5.7 percent recorded in the same period last year. The virus that triggered a three-week shutdown in most of the country in March forced many businesses to close.
However, providing an update on Ghana’s economy on Accra-based Mx24 TV, Dr. Opoku-Afari expressed optimism that despite the contraction, the country’s economy is starting to turn around.
“This recovery is quite significant insofar as we think growth will be positive in the third quarter. If you put it that way, then the leading indicators point to what we will call a V-shaped recovery due to the significant negative impact that we expected as a result of the lockdown, as we expected the restrictions to be prolonged, but we saw that there was a lift. gradual of those restrictions, ”he said.
“This meant that the impact on economic activities had not been so severe even though it is a contraction because -3.2% is not a small contraction but having a trend change in the third quarter shows that the recovery is going to be more than -shaped like a U or a trapezoid, “he added.
