Nigeria: PMI slips to 20-month low in February
In February, the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 53.3, a 20-month low and below January’s 54.0. Despite the fall, the PMI lies above the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction in business conditions, pointing to solid growth in the private sector.
Weaker growth in output, new orders and employment drove February’s dip. Output expanded at the softest pace since June 2017 and the pace of new orders growth slowed to a four-month low. That said, client demand remained strong and backlogs of work continued to accumulate in the surveyed month. As a result, firms hired additional staff, albeit at a modest pace. On the price front, input cost inflation came in flat, while output prices moderated compared to January.