The negative impacts of forex squeeze, power instability and poor ease of doing business in Nigeria on the manufacturing sector have been revealed by the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the report, manufacturing activity fell to 48.2 index points in January 2017, down from 52.0 index point recorded in December, 2016.
Besides, while the manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.2 index points, the non-manufacturing PMI stood at 49.4 points. The figure shows a slower decline compared with the 47.1 points recorded for December 2016.
The report sourced on the apex bank’s website averred that “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 report noted further that 10 of the 16 subsectors surveyed recorded decline in the month under review while the remaining six subsectors expanded.
The sector include 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 report showed that 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.
PMI 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.
