New business rises in Nigeria for first time since January

Nigeria’s private sector downturn continued in November, but a renewed rise in new orders provided a welcome boost to business conditions.

Though only slight, the expansion of new work was the first since January. Output and purchasing activity both fell regardless, with the decline in the former accelerating to a steep rate.

Employment was meanwhile broadly stagnant. On the price front, cost pressures eased in the latest period, whereas charges rose at a faster pace. The headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration. Business conditions in Nigeria’s private sector worsened for the seventh straight month in November.

This was signalled by the seasonally adjusted Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria PMI posting 47.7, up slightly from 47.5.

The latest reading indicated that the pace of contraction had moderated further from August’s record (46.3), but was nevertheless sharper than the 2016 average (48.4).