Business and economic activities in Nigeria declined to the lowest in June 2024 amid soaring prices of goods and services.
This is according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI released on Monday which surveyed 400 companies from the agriculture, manufacturing, services, construction and retail sectors.
The report, conducted by Stanbic IBTC, showed that the headline index fell to 50.1 from 52.1 in the previous month.
PMI for June signalled a broad stagnation of Nigeria’s private due to price pressures which led to a growth decline of output and new orders.
“June data signaled a broad stagnation of the Nigerian private sector as subdued demand and intense price pressures led to slowdowns in growth of output and new orders. In turn, employment rose only fractionally.
“Although new orders continued to rise in June, the rate of expansion was only marginal and the weakest in the current seven-month period of growth. There were some reports of underlying demand improving, but sharp price rises meant that customers faced challenges being able to commit to new projects,” the report added.
Reacting to the report, Muyiwa Oni, head of equity research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank said, “The Stanbic IBTC headline PMI dropped to a seven-month low of 50.1 points in June from 52.1 in May due to moderation in domestic demand amid the intensification of price pressures, leading to slowdowns in growth of output and new orders.”
The development comes as headline and food inflation surged to 33.95 percent and 40.66 percent respectively.