Ghana: PMI jumps in February
The Ghana Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.6 in Febraury, from 50.7 in the opening month of the year. As a result, the index moved further above the critical 50-threshold that separates improvement from deterioration in Ghanaian business conditions, where it has been for 17 consecutive months.
January’s upturn was chiefly driven by sturdy growth in both output and orders, against a backdrop of healthier demand conditions and a stronger cedi. In turn, employment jumped markedly in the surveyed month, although business confidence for the coming year edged down to a three-month low. On the price front, inflationary pressures eased in February.
Commenting on the result, Andrew Harker, Associate Director at IHS Markit, said:
“After signs of a slowdown at the start of the year, the February PMI data provide reassurance that the economy has been able to maintain growth momentum. Higher workloads meant further good news for the labour market, with employment now having risen continuously for three-and-a-half years. One factor helping firms at present is a relative lack of inflationary pressures […] Firms were able to lower their selling prices for only the third time in more than six years of data collection.”