Consumers express pessimism on macroeconomy, first time since Nov 2025

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

Consumers have expressed pessimism on the macroeconomy, first time since November 2025, as their overall sentiment stood at -10.3 index points in March compared to 0.8 index point in February.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed this yesterday in its March 2026 Household Expectation Survey Report.

“The Overall Consumer Sentiments in March 2026 stood at -10.3 index points compared to 0.8index points recorded in February 2026, indicating a pessimistic outlook on the macroeconomy for the first time since November 2025.

“The Economic Conditions index posted –14.5 points in March 2026, indicating a pessimistic outlook among Household respondents regarding current economic conditions.

“Family Financial Situation Index stood at –14.7 points in March 2026, reflecting respondents’ pessimistic views about their household finances.

“Family Income Sentiments recorded -1.3 index points in March 2026, indicating a mild pessimistic outlook on Family income.”

The report showed households perceived prices to be high compared to the February 2026 and expects further moderate rise in price in the next six months.

“The Consumer Sentiments Index on price changes registered 40 points in March 2026, indicating that households perceived prices to have risen compared to the previous month.  

“Looking ahead, they expect price levels to remain moderately high over the next six months.

“Most households surveyed (66.4 percent) expect the Nigerian economy to deteriorate if prices increase at a rate higher than the current level.”

On the other hand, the CBN Business Expectation Survey Report for March 2026 showed that businesses were confident in the macroeconony as their Confidence Index stood at 15.6 index point.

“The Confidence index in March 2026 stood at 15.6 index points, reflecting optimism among respondents regarding the macroeconomy. This optimism is expected to improve gradually to 43.9 index points in the next six months.

“All the sectors expressed optimism about the macroeconomy with the Agriculture Sector recording the highest confidence.

“The Mining & Quarrying sector had the highest prospects for employment while the Agriculture sector had the highest plan for expansion in April 2026.

“The Manufacturing sector recorded the highest capacity utilisation in the current month”

However, respondents fingered insufficient power supply (74.5), insecurity (70.9), high/multiple taxes (69.2), high interest rate (66.6), and financial problems (64.3) as the top five (5) business constraints in March 2026, highlighting factors that directly impact operational stability and profitability.

According to CBN, the findings in the review period highlight the need for improvements in energy supply, security conditions, and the regulatory/financial environment to enhance business stability and profitability.