Tuesday, October 28, 2025
25.6 C
Lagos

Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria PMI: Recovery from Cash Crisis Continued in May

Latest PMI data indicated that the Nigerian private sector continued to recover from the cash crisis in May as access to money improved and business conditions returned to normality. Output and new orders expanded for the second month running, with the latter increasing at the fastest pace in just over a year.

Confidence remained historically subdued, however, meaning that firms continued to operate a cautious approach with regard to hiring. Input costs rose sharply again, with output prices up accordingly. That said, the rate of selling price inflation eased to the weakest since April 2020. The headline figure derived from the survey is the Stanbic IBTC Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions in the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration.

The headline PMI posted above the 50.0 no-change mark for the second month running in May, following the two-month sequence of decline seen around the worst of the cash crisis in the first quarter of the year. At 54.0, up from 53.8 in April, the index signaled a solid improvement in business conditions that was the most marked in 2023 so far. With access to cash improving, customer numbers increased, enabling firms to secure greater volumes of new orders in May.

New business was up sharply, with the rate of expansion the fastest since April 2022. Similarly, business activity rose for the second month running, and at a marked pace. Here, the expansion was slightly softer than in April, however.

The activity was up across each of the four broad sectors covered, with growth led by wholesale & retail. Although higher new orders encouraged firms to increase their staffing levels for the first time in four months during May, the rate of job creation was only marginal amid signs that spare capacity remained in the private sector.

The weak pace of employment growth also partly reflected a relatively softer sentiment regarding the year-ahead outlook for activity. Although business expansion plans and predictions of further improvements in new orders supported positive forecasts, confidence dipped and was the second lowest on record.

More positively, firms increased their purchasing activity at a rapid and accelerated pace, with higher input buying helping companies to expand their inventories. Purchase prices continued to rise sharply, albeit at a slightly softer pace than in the previous survey period.

Higher costs for agricultural inputs such as animal feeds, and rising prices for industrial raw materials, were often mentioned. Staff costs were also up as companies offered higher pay to employees to reflect greater workloads.

Although output prices rose markedly in response to higher costs, the pace of inflation eased to the softest in just over three years as some firms offered discounts to stimulate demand.

 

 

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Polaris Bank Restates Support for SMEs Growth in Nigeria with Launch of ‘EveryDay Supermarket’ Yenegoa Branch

Polaris Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting small...

LASAA Staff Faces Sanctions for Policy Breach after Viral Allegation, Cleared of Fraud

The Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) has...

NGX Group Fuels Women’s Investment Drive, Engages 9,000 at FinTribe Finance Fair 2025

Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), through its regulatory subsidiary,...

BOI, MAN, NECA CEOs to Address Low Productivity in Nigeria at WES 2025

  *As nominations portal closes for WES 2025 Awards for Outstanding Economic Impacts All...

Stanbic IBTC Bank Rewards 78 Savers with ₦16m in 6th Monthly, 2nd Quarterly Draws

Stanbic IBTC Bank remains committed to putting smiles on...

Topics

Nigeria Airways: Murdered in Cold Blood 12 Years Ago by Government! Obasanjo Part 2

In Pages 109, 110 and 111, IFC further gave a deft analysis of the consequences of Liquidation, some of which include: (i) Less likelihood of strong national carrier from “survival of the fittest local strategy; (ii) Disorderly development of air transport market: increases of financial cost from collapse of several domestic carrier; (iii) Great likelihood of worsening safety records in Nigeria; (iv) Increased reliance on foreign carriers, among others. (v) Nigeria would most unlikely not develop into a regional hub.

Ethics and Practice in Media Monitoring and Intelligence

  By: Philip Odiakose Media monitoring and intelligence have become increasingly important...

WIMBIZ Co-Founder Charges Olashore School Graduates on Excellence

The Co-Founder of Women in Business, Management, and Public...

Seplat Takes Immediate Steps to Counter Interim Court Orders Against its Officers

  Seplat Energy says it was already aware of moves...

V Bank Wins Banking App of The Year Award

V Bank, Nigeria’s foremost digital bank powered by VFD...

NIA Breaks Ground for Building Project

The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), the umbrella body of...

The Bloody News from South Africa

When apartheid ended in 1994, the ANC promised to make black South Africans richer (Black Economic Empowerment). The lot of poorer blacks, however, has not improved much. Many are frozen out of the workplace altogether. The unemployment rate among blacks is 28.5%, compared with 5.6% for whites. If those who want work but have given up looking for it are included, the jobless rate is a whopping 41.6% for blacks compared with 7.5% for whites. The Economist, April 27, 2013.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img