CBN reports further decline in the economic activities in April

By Solomon Okpere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the Purchasing Managers Index for April, which indicated further decline in economic activities across the country during the month. CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele The report showed that both the manufacturing and non manufacturing sectors of the economy suffered decline in level of activities during the month. According to the report, production levels, new orders, employment and raw materials inventory declined in the manufacturing sector, while business activities, new orders and employment declined in the non manufacturing sector. The report stated, “The Manufacturing PMI dropped to 43.7 per cent in April 2016, compared to 45.9 per cent in the preceding month. This implies that the manufacturing sector declined at a faster rate during the review period. Of the sixteen manufacturing sub-sectors, twelve recorded decline in the review month in the following order: furniture & related products; paper products; primary metal; electrical equipment; computer & electronic products; printing & related support activities; fabricated metal products; plastics & rubber products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; petroleum & coal products; chemical & pharmaceutical products and food, beverage & tobacco products. The remaining four sub-sectors however recorded expansion in the following order: appliances & components; cement; non metallic mineral products and transportation equipment. “The composite PMI for the non-manufacturing sector recorded decline for the fourth consecutive month. The index dropped to 44.3 per cent from the 45.4 points registered in the preceding month. Of the eighteen non-manufacturing sub-sectors, sixteen recorded decline in the month of April in the following order: accommodation & food services; agriculture; arts, entertainment & recreation; construction; educational services; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; finance & insurance; health care & social assistance; information & communication; management of companies; professional, scientific, & technical services; public administration; real estate rental & leasing; repair, maintenance/ washing of motor vehicles and transportation & warehousing; utilities. The remaining two subsectors recorded growth in the review month in the order: wholesale/retail trade and water supply, sewage & waste management. “At 42.7 per cent, the production level index for manufacturing sector declined for the fourth consecutive month, but at a faster rate than that recorded in March 2016. Of the sixteen manufacturing sub-sectors, ten recorded decline in production level during the review month in the following order: primary metal; furniture & related products; electrical equipment; paper products; plastics & rubber products; printing & related support activities; fabricated metal products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; petroleum & coal products and chemical & pharmaceutical products. The computer & electronic products and food, beverage & tobacco products sub-sectors recorded no change. The remaining four recorded growth in production level during the review month in the following order: transportation equipment; appliances & components; non-metallic mineral products and cement. “Business Activity declined for the fourth consecutive month, standing at 44.2 points in April 2016, compared to 46.3 points in the preceding month. Fourteen out of eighteen sub-sectors recorded declines in the order: management of companies; construction; public administration; finance & insurance; real estate rental & leasing; wholesale/ retail trade; utilities; accommodation & food services; repair, maintenance/washing of motor vehicles; educational services; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; professional, scientific, & technical services; information & communication and transportation & warehousing. The arts, entertainment & recreation sub-sector recorded no change. The remaining three sub- sectors recorded growth in the review month in the order: health care & social assistance; agriculture and water supply, sewage & waste management.