Nigerian businesses recorded significant deterioration in October 2024 as the purchasing manager index dropped to 46.9 from 49.8 recorded in September.
This is according to the Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October.
The data speaks volumes about the difficulties the majority of businesses in Nigeria face due to rising inflation, which stood at 32.70 per cent in September.
“The headline PMI dropped to 46.9 in October from 49.8 in September, signalling a marked deterioration in business conditions that was the most pronounced since March 2023. Central to the worsening business environment in October was an intensification of already strong inflationary pressures. Overall input prices surged higher, with the latest rise the third-fastest in the survey’s history,” the report stated.
The development comes amid an incessant price hike of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in October to between N1060 and N1300 per litre nationwide.
The price of fuel jumped to over N1060 per litre in October from an average price of N626.21 in September 2023.
Fuel price hike coupled with the unstable naira, which stood at N1666.72 per dollar on November 1, 2024, compared to N942 traded in the same period last year.
The development had reduced the purchasing power of the majority of Nigeria as skyrocketed prices of goods and services worsened the cost of living in the country.
