Kenya: PMI rises in January
The Stanbic Bank Kenya and S&P Global PMI improved to 49.8 in January from 48.8 in December. Despite the uptick, the index remained below the 50.0 no-change threshold and signaled a softer deterioration in private sector operating conditions compared to the previous month.
The private sector economy showed signs of stabilization in January, with business activity and new order volumes dropping only slightly. Additionally, employment numbers rose slightly in the month. Meanwhile, inflation slowed down, but purchasing activity dropped. Lastly, future output expectations were subdued, with only a small percentage of businesses showing optimism for the year ahead.