July Stanbic PMI shows new orders rise for first time in five months

The headline Stanbic Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has for the first time since February crossed into positive territory recording a reading of 50.3 in July. This follows easing of the lockdown that saw curfews revised and several businesses reopened. The PMI recorded a reading of 50.3 during July, up from 46.5 in June representing a significant recovery from the 21.6 recorded in April after the lockdown was announced. However, the figure is still below the monthly average of 52.9 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic but above the 50.0 threshold. Furthermore, spare capacity remained present in the private…