Ghana: PMI stable in August
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Ghana Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained stable from July at a nearly two-year low of 51.8 points in August. As such, the index remained above the critical 50-point threshold that distinguishes improvement from deterioration in business conditions in Ghana.
The reading was underpinned by an acceleration in new orders and output growth—both subcomponents of the index recovered from 22-month lows observed in July. The job creation rate, on the other hand, slowed to a year-and-a-half low. In addition, the cedi’s weakness persisted and drove up input costs, which were only partly passed on to consumers via higher output prices, while wage growth in August was the lowest since November 2016.
Commenting on the report, Phumelele Mbiyo, head of Africa research at Stanbic Bank, noted:
“Compared to 2017 and earlier this year, the momentum seems to have decelerated somewhat […] These indications that the pace of growth is decelerating will be worth watching in the coming months. After all, the central bank has become a bit more hawkish, not lowering the policy rate despite inflation being within the target range.”