Private firms expand as PMI hits 18-month high in July

Stanbic IBTC bank’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report has revealed that Nigeria’s private sector began the second half of the year on a positive footing as they continued the run of expansion that began in July 2020.

The report released on Monday said that the headline PMI rose in July to 55.4, up from 53.6 in June.

The reading signaled a marked improvement in business conditions, and one which was the strongest since January 2020.

The report further revealed that quicker upticks in output, new orders, purchases and employment supported growth in July.

Despite this, it said firms were able to keep backlogs at bay, though sentiment did moderate to the weakest since last September.

The uptick was centred on stronger demand conditions, with new orders rising at the fastest rate in one-and-a-half years. As a result, firms raised their output levels, and at the joint-quickest rate since August 2020.

Greater output requirements led firms to raise their buying activity during the month, which they did so at the sharpest rate in one-and-a-half years.

“On the price front, higher raw material, wage and transportation prices were linked to another robust rate of overall input price inflation. Output prices also rose sharply’’, the report said.