Nigeria PMI December 2017: Economy Ends the Year on Positive Note…

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The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped in December, ending the year at a three-year high. The PMI came in at 56.8, above November’s 55.2. The indicator lies comfortably above the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction in business conditions, pointing to robust growth in the private sector.

Record fast growth in new orders drove the PMI’s surge, alongside buoyant output growth. Strong demand led employers to hire additional workers in December and purchasing activity also increased. On the price front, input price inflation eased from November’s 10-month high in December.

While overall the survey’s result was positive, Stanbic IBTC Bank Economist Ayomide Mejabi cautioned that “challenges with petrol supply which emerged in the latter part of December likely disrupted business activity and general consumer sentiment” at the end of the month.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect fixed investment growth to reach 3.0% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. In 2019, fixed investment is seen contracting 0.4%.

Written by: Angela Bouzanis, Senior Economist, she held positions in communications and public outreach in Vancouver, Canada, where she also earned her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia. Angela later completed a Master’s in Economics and Finance at the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.