Consumer spending, proxied by domestic VAT collections and retail sales, posted a mixed performance in July 2026, compared with the corresponding period in 2025, the September 2026 Monetary Policy Report.
Domestic VAT collections increased by 11.5% on a year-on year basis to GH¢2.142 billion, from GH¢1.922 billion.
Cumulatively, total domestic VAT for the first seven months of 2026 went up by 13.8% to GH¢13.617 billion compared with GH¢11.965 billion for the corresponding period of last year.
Retail sales, however, declined by 1.5% (year-on-year) to GH¢236.41 million in July 2026, down from the GH¢239.89 million recorded in the same period in 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, retail sales moderated by 0.8% in July 2026 from GH¢238.25 million in the preceding month. In cumulative terms, retail sales for the first seven months of 2026 went up by 2.2 percent compared to the same period of last year.
Manufacturing Activities
Also, activities in the manufacturing sub-sector, gauged by trends in the collection of direct taxes and private sector workers’ contributions to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme (Tier-1), improved in July 2026.
The total direct taxes collected increased by 53.5% (year-on-year) to GH¢8.085 billion in July 2026, relative to GH¢5.265 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2025. Cumulatively, total direct taxes collected for the first seven months of 2026 went up by 27.7% to GH¢60.771 billion, from GH¢47.592 billion for the same period in 2025.
Als, the total private sector workers’ contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1) increased by 11.2% in year-on year terms to GH¢570.59 million in July 2026, from GH¢513.34 million collected during the corresponding period in 2025.
Cumulatively, for the first seven months of 2026, the contribution grew by 10.7 percent to GH¢3.856 billion, relative to GH¢3.482 billion recorded in the same period in 2025.
Construction Sector Activities
Furthermore, activity in the construction sub-sector, proxied by the volume of cement sales, declined by 4.9% (year-on-year) in July 2026 to 202,218.17 tonnes, from 212,735.33 tonnes recorded a year ago. Similarly, on a month-on-month basis, total cement sales moderated by 0.6 percent in July 2026 compared with the 203,435.35 tonnes recorded in June 2026.
Cumulatively, cement sales for the first seven months of 2026 declined by 10.3 percent to 1,475,115.01 tonnes, from 1,644,413.19 tonnes for the same period of 2025.
According to the report, the relative decline in total cement sales, year-on-year, was due to a moderation in construction activities during the review period.
Vehicle Registration
For vehicle registration, transport sector activities, gauged by new vehicle registrations by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), improved by 51.7% to 31,909 in July 2026, from 21,038 vehicles registered during the corresponding period of 2025.
Cumulatively, the number of vehicles registered by the DVLA within the first seven months of 2026 increased by 52.7% to 228,261 from 149,440 recorded a year ago.
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