Manufacturing PMI Drops 3.8% in January—CBN

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the month of January 2017.

In its report released on Tuesday, the apex bank revealed that the PMI for the manufacturing industry slumped by 3.8 percent in the period under review.

According to the CBN, the manufacturing PMI, which stood at 52 index points in December 2016, depreciated to 48.2 index points in January 2017, indicating a decline in the sector.

“The index averaged 45.2 in the last twelve months, and had grown in December 2016 after recording declines for eleven consecutive months,” the bankers’ bank said.

It further disclosed that 10 of the 16 sub-sectors surveyed recorded decline in the review month in the following order: primary metal; transportation equipment; paper products; electrical equipment; fabricated metal products; printing & related support activities; cement; furniture & related products; plastics & rubber products; and chemical & pharmaceutical products.

The CBN said the remaining six subsectors are expected to expand in the order: petroleum & coal products; appliances & components; non-metallic mineral products; food, beverage & tobacco products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; and computer & electronic products.

However, the report pointed out that the production level index for manufacturing sector grew for the second consecutive month.

It said the index stood at 51.3 points, indicating a slower growth when compared to the 57.6 points in the month of December 2016.

But the CBN’s report stressed that the index for new orders declined to 47.9 points after one month of expansion recorded in December 2016, while the supplier delivery time index for manufacturing sub-sectors worsened for the second consecutive month, but at a slower rate in the month of January 2017, standing at 48.5 index points.

The report further noted that at 46.3 points, the raw materials inventory index declined after one month of growth, stating that of the 16 sub-sectors, 13 recorded decline in raw materials inventories in the order: computer & electronic products; petroleum & coal products; electrical equipment; primary metal; transportation equipment; printing & related support activities; furniture & related products; fabricated metal products; plastics & rubber products; paper products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; cement and chemical & pharmaceutical products.

The report said the remaining three sub-sectors recorded increased inventories in the order: appliances & components; food, beverage & tobacco products and non-metallic mineral products.