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Central Bank of Nigeria building
The latest Purchasing Manager’s Index released by the Central Bank of Nigeria has indicated that economic activities expanded in August for the first time in 13 months.
The PMI published by the CBN on Wednesday showed that the composite PMI for August 2024 stood at 50.2 index points, indicating an expansion in economic activities after 13 consecutive months of contraction.
“The sectoral breakdown shows that the services sector recorded expansion for the third consecutive month, while the agricultural sector registered expansion for the first month. The industry sector, though contracted, registered a slower contraction when compared to the level recorded in the previous month.
“Among the 36 subsectors reviewed across the industry, services and agriculture sectors, 17 subsectors reported growth with primary metal reporting the highest growth during the review month, while the remaining 19 subsectors registered a decline with forestry reporting the highest decline.
“Output, new orders and stock of raw materials at 50.8, 50.5 and 51.3 points, respectively indicated growth. Suppliers’ Delivery Time is Stationary at 50.0 points, while Employment at 48.7 points registered a decline in August 2024,” the report stated.
The CBN said the August PMI survey was conducted from August 12 to 16, adding that the survey respondents were the company’s Purchasing and Supply Executives, drawn from the three sectors of the economy, namely: industry, services, and agriculture.
The PMI is computed based on responses regarding the direction of change in different aspects of respondents’ business activities.
An index above 50.0 points indicates an expansion in business activities, while below 50.0 points indicates a contraction in business activities.
An index of 50.0 indicates a no-change situation.
A closer look at the composite Employment index showed that at 48.7 index points in August, the contraction in employment level continued for the eighth consecutive month.
“This index when compared to the level in July 2024, remained unchanged, indicating no significant change in employment during the period. 19 subsectors reported a contraction in employment level, with transportation equipment and forestry subsectors recording the highest decline in the review month. Six subsectors remained unchanged, while the remaining 11 subsectors reported increased Employment Levels with the Electrical Equipment subsector having the highest Employment index,” said the report.
In August, the CBN announced the reintroduction of key economic reports, including the purchasing managers’ index, business expectation survey and inflation expectation report.
In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Ali, the apex bank explained that the reports were crucial for offering stakeholders timely and accurate insights into Nigeria’s economic performance and for gaining a better understanding of the country’s economic climate.
