NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s private sector activity bounced back in February to record its first expansion since August, helped by easing inflation and gains in agriculture, manufacturing and services, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 51.3 in February from 49.8 a month earlier.
Readings above 50.0 signal growth, while those below point to a contraction. It is the first time since August that the figure has gone above 50.
“Business activity expanded across the Kenyan private sector … as a further softening of inflationary pressures supported a fresh increase in new order volumes,” Stanbic Bank said in commentary accompanying the survey.
Inflation fell to 6.3% year-on-year in February from 6.9% a month earlier, data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed.
“There was a notable expansion … with output increasing in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
However, construction and wholesale & retail activity slipped,” Christopher Legilisho, an economist at Stanbic Bank, said.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa; editing by Christina Fincher)
