Consumer spending, proxied by domestic VAT collections and retail sales, posted a mixed performance in May 2026 compared with the corresponding period in 2025, the July 2026 Monetary Policy Report (MPR) of the Bank of Ghana has revealed.

According to the report, domestic VAT collections increased by 2.8% on a year-on-year basis to GH¢1.822 billion from GH¢1.772 billion.

Cumulatively, total domestic VAT for the first five months of 2026 went up by 16.8 percent to GH¢9.713 billion, compared with GH¢8.313 billion for the corresponding period of last year.

Retail sales declined by 3.1% year-on-year to GH¢269.09 million in May 2026, down from the GH¢277.62 million recorded in the same period in 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales remained relatively unchanged compared to GH¢269.50 million recorded in the preceding month. In cumulative terms, retail sales for the first five months of 2026 went up by 2.5%.

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 May 2026.

Total direct taxes collected increased by 18.6% year-on-year to GH¢6.528 billion in May 2026, relative to GH¢5.503 billion recorded in a similar period in 2025.

Cumulatively, total direct taxes collected for the first five months of 2026 went up by 16.4% to GH¢38.157 billion, from GH¢32.772 billion for the same period in 2025.

In terms of contributions of the various sub-tax categories, income tax (PAYE and self-employed) accounted for 41.4%, corporate tax accounted for 37.1%, while “other tax sources” contributed 21.5%.

Total private sector workers’ contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier 1) increased by 6.7% in year-on-year terms to GH¢556.20 million in May 2026, from GH¢521.33 million collected during the corresponding period in 2025.

Construction Sector Activities

The activity in the construction sub-sector, proxied by the volume of cement sales, declined by 19.1% (year-on-year) in May 2026 to 206,242.11 tonnes, down from 255,063.29 tonnes recorded a year ago.

Similarly, on a month-on-month basis, total cement sales dipped by 9.1% in May 2026, compared with the 226,936.20 tonnes recorded in April 2026.

Cumulatively, cement sales for the first five months of 2026 declined by 12.7% to 1,069,461.49 tonnes from 1,225,395.86 tonnes for the same period of 2025.