Manufacturing Index Expands for 15th Consecutive Month
. CBN intervenes with fresh $318.73mÂ
By Obinna Chima
The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for June stood at 57.0 index points, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 15th consecutive month.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed this in its PMI report for June that was posted on its website at the weekend.
The report showed that the index however grew at a faster rate when compared to the index in the previous month.
Of the 14 sub-sectors surveyed, 10 reported growth in the review month in the following order: paper products; furniture and related products; printing and related support activities; food, beverage and tobacco products; plastics and rubber products; electrical equipment; textile, apparel, leather and footwear; chemical and pharmaceutical products; petroleum and coal products and non-metallic mineral products.
On the other hand, the transportation equipment; fabricated metal products; primary metal; and cement subsectors declined in the review month.
Similarly, at 59.2 points, the production level index for the manufacturing sector grew for the 16th consecutive month in June 2018.
The index indicated a faster growth in the current month, when compared to its level in the preceding month.
In all, 10 of the 14 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level, one remained unchanged, while the remaining three recorded declines in production level during the review month.
Also, at 56.2 points, the new orders index grew for the fifteenth consecutive month, indicating increase in new orders in June 2018. Eight sub-sectors reported growth, two remained unchanged while four contracted in the review month.
“The manufacturing supplier delivery time index stood at 56.5 points in June 2018, indicating slower supplier delivery time for the thirteenth consecutive month.
“Eight sub-sectors recorded improved suppliers’ delivery time, while six remained unchanged. The employment level index in June 2018 stood at 55.4 points, indicating growth in employment level for the 14th consecutive month.
“Of the 14 sub-sectors, seven reported increased employment level, four remained unchanged while three reported reduced employment level in the review month,†it showed.
In the same vein, the manufacturing sector inventories index grew for the 15th consecutive month in June 2018.
At 57.7 points, the index grew at a slower rate when compared to its level in the previous month. Eleven of the 14 sub-sectors recorded growth, two remained unchanged while one recorded decline in raw material inventories.
“The composite PMI for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 57.5 points in June 2018, indicating expansion in the non-manufacturing PMI for the 14th consecutive month.
“The index grew at a faster rate when compared to that in May 2018. Fourteen of the 17 subsectors recorded growth in the following order: repair, maintenance/ washing of motor vehicles; agriculture; information and communication; professional, scientific and technical services; finance and insurance; utilities; water supply, sewage and waste management; health care and social assistance; real estate rental and leasing; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; wholesale/retail trade; construction; management of companies; and transportation & warehousing,†it added.
Meanwhile, the CBN intervened in the retail segment of the interbank foreign exchange market with a total of $318.73 million last Friday.
Data obtained from the CBN indicated that the deals in the retail window represented requests from the various sectors in the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), thereby providing a boost to the respective sectors.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, while confirming the forex sales, explained that $318.73 million sold was for companies in the raw materials, agricultural, airline and petroleum industries.
The central bank had earlier in the week, intervened to the tune of $210 million to cater for requests in the wholesale segment of the forex market.
Speaking further, Okorafor said the CBN remained very committed to ensuring that all the sectors continue to enjoy access to the foreign exchange required for their business concerns.
Meanwhile, the naira exchanged at an average of N360/$1 in the Bureau De Change segment (BDCs) across major trading points in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Kano.
