The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that the country’s manufacturing activity fell from 52.0 index points recorded in December 2016 to 48.2 index points in January.
The apex bank, in its Purchasing Managers Index reports, revealed that the manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.2 index points, while the non-manufacturing PMI stood at 49.4 points, representing an increase compared with 47.1 points recorded in December 2016.
In the PMI report, the CBN said, “A composite PMI above 50 points indicates that the manufacturing/non – manufacturing economy is generally expanding, 50 points indicate no change and below 50 points indicate that it is generally declining.”
The growth of the manufacturing PMI in December 2016 still could not stop declining for eleven consecutive months and averaged 45.2 in the last 12 months. The report added that 10 of the 16 sub-sectors surveyed recorded decline in the month under review, while the remaining six subsectors expanded.
The six sectors, according to the apex bank, are petroleum and coal products, appliances and components, nonmetallic mineral products, food, beverage and tobacco products, textile, apparel, leather and footwear, and computer and electronic products.
However, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the second consecutive month, standing at 51.3 points, indicating a slower growth, when compared to the 57.6 points in the month of December 2016. But this did not have any impact on new orders as well as suppliers’ delivery time during the period, as they both declined with the latter standing at 48.5 index points while the former stood at 47.9 points.
The report also showed that the employment level index for the January manufacturing PMI stood at 45.3 points, indicating a decline in employment level for the 23rd consecutive month.
However, the report stated that at 45.6 points, the index declined at a slower rate compared with the 43.8 points recorded in December 2016. Similarly, the report showed that the employment level index for the non-manufacturing sector PMI declined for the 13th consecutive month in January 2017.
