The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported that 65.5% of Nigerian households supported a reduction in lending rates in view of the benefits to the nation’s economy.
The apex bank, in its latest report titled ‘Household Expectations Survey’ conducted in February 2025, highlighted the public perception of key economic indicators such as inflation rate, interest rates, exchange rates, and economic confidence over the next six months.
According to the report’s findings, while only 10.4% of respondents opted for increase in interest rates, 12.5% preferred the current rates to be sustained while 11.6% of the respondents expressed uncertainty about the direction of interest rates.
The report also reflected that most Nigerians believed that lower borrowing costs would improve household finances, improve the performance of businesses and by implication, enhance Nigeria’s economic stability.
On the respondents’ perspectives on how inflation is affecting the nation’s economic growth, 68.1% of the respondents believed that surging inflation would weaken the Nigerian economy, 18.3% of them agreed that rising prices would make no difference, 8.1% of the respondents were uncertain about the impact of inflation, while 5.5% believed it would make the economy stronger.
Responding to the survey question on choosing between raising interest rates to control inflation or keeping interest rates low and allowing inflation to increase, 44.1% of the respondents preferred reduced interest rates, while 42.1% voted for raising rates to curb inflation, and 13.8% of them didn’t respond to the question.
In addition, the survey measured consumer sentiment about the economy over different time periods and the report reflected that in February 2025, consumer confidence improved from -10.8 index points in the previous month to -5.8, showing improved optimism of the consumer in the economy.
The survey report indicated that by May this year, consumer sentiment about the economy would turn positive, reaching 4.0 index points and reflecting a more optimistic outlook on the macroeconomic landscape.
A further analysis of the report’s data showed that consumer sentiment was expected to improve in August 2025, with the index rising to 12.3 points, suggesting growing consumer confidence in the current drive by the government to improve the performance of the nation’s economy economic recovery.
