Manufacturing Sector Rose Slightly In April

The manufacturing sector recorded marginal growth as the Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 49.0 index points in April from 48.8 index points in March.

The Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in a report by the Monetary Policy Committee.

It said, “The committee noted the marginal growth in the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index to 49.0 index points in April 2021 from 48.8 index points in March 2021.

“This increase is a lead indicator of recovery of output growth following the easing of restrictions to curtail the spread of the Pandemic.”

The non-manufacturing PMI declined marginally to 47.3 index points in April 2021 from 47.9 index points in March.

“The employment level component of the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs rose moderately in April 2021 to 46.5 and 48.2 index points from 45.9 and 47.7 index points in March 2021, respectively,” the report said.

The committee noted the moderate decline in headline inflation (year-on-year) to 18.12 per cent in April 2021 from 18.17 per cent in March, following 19 consecutive months of continuous rise.

The decrease was driven by a marginal slowdown in food inflation to 22.72 per cent in April 2021 from 22.95 per cent in the previous month.

This was partly attributed to the bank’s massive interventions in various sectors of the economy to stimulate aggregate demand and boost production, particularly for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises.

On the performance of monetary aggregates, the committee noted that broad money supply grew by 1.15 per cent in April 2021, compared with 0.04 per cent in March 2021.

The development was largely driven by growth in net domestic assets, while net foreign assets contracted.

The growth in the net domestic assets reflected the growth in aggregate credit supported by the ongoing broad-based monetary and fiscal stimulus.