Ngerian businesses faced a notable decline in October 2024, with the purchasing manager index (PMI) falling to 46.9, down from 49.8 in September.
This information comes from the Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October.
The data highlights the challenges that many businesses in Nigeria are encountering due to escalating inflation, which reached 32.70 percent in September.
“The headline PMI decreased to 46.9 in October from 49.8 in September, indicating a significant deterioration in business conditions, the most severe since March 2023. A key factor contributing to the worsening environment in October was the intensification of already high inflationary pressures. Overall input prices surged, marking the third-fastest increase in the survey’s history,” the report noted.
This situation arises amidst continuous increases in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), which rose to between N1060 and N1300 per litre across the country in October.
DAILY POST reports that fuel prices soared to over N1060 per litre in October, compared to an average of N626.21 in September 2023.
The rise in fuel prices, combined with a volatile naira—trading at N1666.72 per dollar on November 1, 2024, compared to N942 during the same period last year—has diminished the purchasing power of many Nigerians, exacerbating the rising costs of goods and services and worsening the overall cost of living in the country.
