NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in 10 months in November, as the economy benefited from the lifting of an overnight curfew after COVID-19 infections eased, a survey showed on Friday.
The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.0 in November from 51.4 in the previous month. The 50.0 mark separates growth from a contraction in activity.
“Domestic demand increased rapidly in response to the lifting of the curfew, with the main beneficiaries being firms in services, trade and construction,” said Kuria Kamau, a fixed income and currency strategist at Stanbic Bank.
President Uhuru Kenyatta lifted the curfew that had been in place since March 2020 in October, after the daily rate of infections by the coronavirus for any given sample fell to less than 5%.
In response, companies significantly boosted their production to meet rising demand in the run-up to the holidays this month, Kamau said.
The central bank raised its economic growth forecasts for this year and 2022 on Tuesday, reflecting the growing optimism.
Growth rebounded strongly in the second quarter of this year, data from the statistics office showed last month, after it contracted by -0.3% last year due to the impact of the pandemic.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Toby Chopra)
