Nigeria: PMI ticks down in July
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) inched down from 54.8 in June to 54.6 in July. Despite the downtick, the PMI remains comfortably above the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction in business conditions, pointing to solid growth in the private sector
Softer growth in business activity was largely behind July’s dip. That said, amid firmer client demand, new orders gathered pace compared to June. Firms continued to raise their staffing levels in the surveyed month, albeit modestly. On the price front, both input cost and output charge inflation rose, but remained relatively weak nonetheless. Lastly, business sentiment fell to a seven-month low; however, it remained upbeat overall.