Business sentiments hit a record low in October, the start of the final quarter of the year on the back of inflationary pressures.
According to the latest Purchasing Manager Index report released by Stanbic IBTC Bank, this was the lowest point in terms of business sentiments in the history of the survey.
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria PMI was compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in private sector companies, including agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail and services.
Data was first collected in January 2014. The headline PMI dropped to 46.9 in October from 49.8 in September and signalled a marked deterioration in business conditions that was the most pronounced since March 2023.
The report said that severe inflationary pressures caused an intensification of the downturn in the Nigerian private sector at the start of the final quarter of the year.
Overall input costs rose at one of the sharpest rates on record, with selling prices increasing accordingly. This resulted in marked reductions in new orders and business activity, while business sentiment was the lowest in the survey’s history.
