PMI: Nigeria‘s economy-wide PMI dropped for the third consecutive month to 50.2 in August from 51.7 in July.
The decline was mainly a function of price pressures, which resulted in declining consumer demand. Recall that inflation rose to 24.1 percent y/y in August from 22.8 percent in July due to higher transportation costs as a result of the removal of the fuel subsidy, plus currency weakness.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s S&P Global PMI remained unchanged at 49.2 in August, pointing to a mild decline in business conditions in the non-oil private sector. Survey results indicated that companies continued to show some signs of a recovering market. Meanwhile, output fell modestly but at a slightly slower rate than in August, as businesses signalled that tougher price pressures had led to a drop in capacity.
On the pricing front, input cost inflation quickened to a five-month high, resulting in a faster rise in selling prices compared to July’s recent low. Non-oil companies continue to indicate that inflation had constrained output, as weak exchange rates, raw material supply issues and wage pressures led to the fastest increase in business expenses for five months.
