THE Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, PMI, dropped marginally to 59.2 index points in January though activities in sector expanded for the 34th consecutive months. The January Manufacturing PMI represents 1.6 index points decline when compared to the 60.2 index points recorded in December 2019
Similarly, the Non Manufacturing PMI dropped by 2.5 index points to 59.6 index points in January from 62.1 index points in December. A PMI reading above 50 points indicates expansion in economic activity, while PMI reading below 50 points indicates contraction in economic activities.
Disclosing this in its PMI report from January, the CBN said that 11 out of the 14 sectors surveyed in the manufacturing sector recorded expansion while all the 17 non manufacturing sectors surveyed recorded expansion.
The report stated: “The Manufacturing PMI in the month of January stood at 59.2 index points, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the thirty-fourth consecutive month. The index grew at a slower rate when compared to the index in December.
“Of the 14 surveyed subsectors, 11 reported growth in the review month in the following order: petroleum and coal products; transportation equipment; Paper products; Furniture and related products; plastics and rubber products; primary metal; food, beverage and tobacco products; chemical and pharmaceutical products; fabricated metal products; textile, apparel, leather and footwear and cement. Electrical equipment subsector remained unchanged while Printing and related support activities and non-metallic mineral products recorded declines.
The composite PMI for the nonmanufacturing sector stood at 59.6 points in January 2020, indicating expansion in non-manufacturing PMI for the thirty-third consecutive month.
The index grew at a slower rate when compared to its level in December 2019.
