High interest rates, multiple taxes constrain businesses in Sept —CBN

•Households expect prices to summation coming months

•73% agrarian residents accidental ostentation complaint is high 

By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

Businesses and location holds person highlighted precocious involvement rates, aggregate taxes and mediocre infrastructure arsenic apical 3 concern constraints successful September, adjacent arsenic they expressed optimism astir the macroeconomy successful the coming months.

In its Business Expectation Survey,   the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN said: “The Confidence Index stood astatine 31.5 scale points successful the existent month(September, 2025), reflecting the optimism of respondents regarding the macroeconomy. This optimism is projected to persist implicit the adjacent six months, peaking astatine 51.8 scale points.

“Respondents identified precocious slope charges (70.8), high/multiple taxes (70.8) andpoor infrastructure (70.7) arsenic the apical 3 (3) concern constraints successful September 2025, highlighting factors that straight interaction connected operational stableness and profitability.

“At the bottommost of the apical 10 constraints were Insufficient Power Supply (37.8) and Competition (40.4). This suggested that concern constraints were much focused connected fiscal factors than governmental challenges successful the reappraisal period”.

Meanwhile, households person projected prices to summation successful the coming months with their wide sentiment connected the macroeconomy lasting astatine -6.4 scale points successful September from-7.2 scale points successful August, indicating reduced pessimism.

In the CBN’s Households Expectations Survey Report for September 2025, the slope said: “Consumer sentiments connected terms changes stood astatine -6.4 scale points successful September 2025, indicating that responsive perceived prices were inactive high.

“Respondents besides expect prices to summation adjacent month, adjacent 3 months and six months comparative to existent month.

“The wide user sentiment successful September 2025 stood astatine -6.4 scale points, an betterment from the -7.2 scale points recorded successful August 2025.

“The Economic Condition scale improved from -4.3 scale points recorded successful August 2025 to -2.9index points successful September 2025, indicating reduced pessimism astir the broader economy.

“Family Financial Situation Index stood astatine -16.5 points successful September 2025, an betterment from -17.0 successful August 2025, indicating a flimsy easing of pessimism among respondents regarding their household finances. Family Income Sentiment recorded 0.1 scale points successful September 2025, indicating optimism for the archetypal clip since April 2025.”

In a akin vein, 73.9 percent of residents successful agrarian areas are seeing ostentation complaint arsenic precocious compared to their municipality counterparts.

In its Inflation Expectation Survey Report for September 2025, CBN said: “Rural respondents (73.9 percent) indicated a higher cognition of precocious ostentation than their municipality counterparts (72.4 percent).”

The station High involvement rates, aggregate taxes constrain businesses successful Sept —CBN appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.