Business owners surveyed between April and June this year have generally expressed a lack of confidence in the economy. The level-of-confidence index according to the Association of Ghana Industries’ second quarter Barometer was negative 0.21, the lowest since June last year. The businesses once again cited high interest rates on borrowed funds and cost of raw materials as a major challenge. The survey which gauged the views of 300 business owners across the country also cited high utility prices as another major concern. They are however optimistic about the current quarter. AGI President Nana Owusu Afari tells Joy Business they would forward the concerns to government. “Although the inflation of 9.52 has been announced about two weeks ago it has not translated into businesses having lower interest rate. “We will also go and meet the relevant authorities and try to let them understand that we are all in the same economy we want the economy to grow and therefore they should look at factors which can help the economy grow,” he stated. Source: Joy Business/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana