Business conditions in the Ugandan private sector continued to improve during April, according to the latest PMI data from Stanbic Bank and IHS Markit.
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Underpinning overall growth were further increases in output and new orders, which subsequently led to an expansion in workforce numbers.
Furthermore, purchasing activity rose for the second month in succession in the private sector.
At 51.8 in April, down from 53.2 in March, the latest headline figure signalled a further improvement in the health of the Ugandan private sector.
However, the pace of growth fell below the average observed across the series so far (since June 2016).
April saw business activity increase for the fifteenth month in succession, amid strong underlying demand.
Furthermore, Ugandan private sector firms experienced a rise in new orders at the start of the second quarter.
The agriculture and construction sub-sectors led the expansion in both output and new orders, with business activity contracting across the industry, services and wholesale & retail categories.
Staffing levels also increased in the Ugandan private sector, boosted by heightened client demand and planned business expansions.
Employment rose across three out of the five sub-sectors, the exceptions being industry and wholesale & retail where respective stagnation and contraction were seen.
Businesses further responded to higher demand by expanding their purchasing activity for the second consecutive month.
Subsequently, stock levels rose in the private sector following two successive months of decline.
Meanwhile, competition among suppliers led average lead times for inputs to shorten further during April.
Elsewhere, higher raw material prices underpinned an increase in cost burdens in April.
In fact, overall input costs rose across all five monitored sub-sectors, continuing the trend observed since the survey’s inception.
Accordingly, businesses across all five monitored sub-sectors increased their average selling prices at the start of the second quarter. ■