Nigeria: PMI dips to 19-month low in January
In January, the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 54.0, an 19-month low and below December’s 55.0. Despite the fall, the PMI lies well above the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction in business conditions, pointing to robust growth in the private sector.
Weaker growth in output and new orders drove January’s dip. That said, client demand remained strong and backlogs of work picked up in the month. As a result, firms hired additional staff, with the rate of job creation accelerating to a five-month high. On the price front, input cost inflation slowed markedly, in part due to lower labor costs, while output prices also moderated compared to December.