…Spurred By Agriculture, Industrial Sectors’ Performance
Nigeria’s private sector sustained its growth momentum in October this year as the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) marginally increased to 53.2 points, up from 53.0 points recorded in the preceding month.
The latest data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the index showed that the October’s performance represented the fifth consecutive month of expansion in economic activity.
The apex bank linked the sustained improved performance of the economy primarily to stronger output in the agriculture and industrial sectors despite a slight moderation in services sector growth.
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The PMI data reflected that the three major sectors of the economy remained above the 50-point benchmark, which hallmarks expansion from contraction, implying broad-based growth across the broad spectrum of the nation’s economy.
An analysis of the report’s component indices indicated improvements in some key areas of business activity while new orders and inventories recorded declines compared with their performances in the preceding month.
Specifically, the CBN’s report revealed that the composite output index rose to 54.6 points in the month under review, up from 53.9 points in September, while the employment index increased to 53.2 points from 51.5 points, while the new orders index eased to 52.8 points from 53.7 points.
Similarly, the apex bank reported that the stock of raw materials index slipped to 51.9 points from 52.1 points but remained above the 50-point expansion threshold just as the new export orders index improved from 48.2 to 48.8 points, while new import orders rose from 47.9 to 49.0 points, although both remained below 50 points.
When analyzed on sectoral basis, the PMI data showed that Industry PMI rose for third consecutive month, increasing to 52.6 points in October from 52.0 points in the preceding month as all the five component indices used to assess industrial activity remained above the 50-point threshold, pointing to continued improvement across the measured areas.
As earlier indicated, the agriculture sector emerged as the strongest-performing segment of the economy among the three sectors in October, posting a PMI reading of 54.7 points, up from 53.1 points in September.
However, the Services sector growth moderated in October, with the PMI easing to 52.7 points from 53.2 points in September, although the sector remained in expansion for the fourth consecutive month.
