Nigeria's manufacturing index declines in August

TThe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported that the country's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) fell to 42.1 points in August from 44.1 points in the previous month, implying that the manufacturing sector declined at a faster rate during the review period.

The apex bank said 15 out of the 16 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded declines in the month of review in the following order: nonmetallic mineral products; transportation equipment; petroleum & coal products; fabricated metal products; furniture & related products; cement; and appliances & components.

Others are printing & related support activities; paper products; computer & electronic products; food, beverage & tobacco products; primary metal; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; plastics & rubber products; and chemical & pharmaceutical products. The electrical equipment sub-sector remained unchanged in the review period.

Nigeria's PMI has been under 50 points – which indicates that the manufacturing sector is generally declining – since December 2015, due mainly to the country's deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.

National Bureau of Statistics reported last month that the economy contracted by 2.06 per cent in Q2 2016. This confirmed Nigeria is in a recession, the GDP Q1 data having contracted by 0.36 percent.