Ghana: PMI rises to over one-year high in February
The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ index (PMI) came in at 50.2 in February, up from January’s 47.2. Consequently, the index rose above the 50.0 no-change threshold, signaling an improvement in private-sector operating conditions from the previous month. February’s result marked the first time since January 2022 that the print was in expansionary territory.
The February print showed an upbeat picture, with output and new orders expanding for the first time in 14 and 12 months, respectively. The improvement was anecdotally attributed to declining price pressures: In February, input inflation fell to its slowest rate in a year, while output inflation softened to its slowest rate since December 2021. In addition, recruitment increased for the third month running. More negatively, business sentiment waned from its one-year high last month to the weakest level in three months.
Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, underlined that:
“Ghana’s private sector was in recovery mode in February […]. Economic conditions remain challenging, however, and firms will need to see inflation continue to come down if the recovery is to be sustained in the months ahead.”