According to the latest update, the Stanbic Bank Uganda Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped by about 1.2 percent to 57.5 in August 2019 from 58.2 in July. The reading pointed to 31st straight month of expansion in the private sector, as both output and new orders continued to increase and employment grew further.
Also, firms increased their purchasing activity. Reflecting this, stocks of purchases also increased, extending the current period of accumulation to five months. In terms of prices, overall input costs rose, mainly due to increases in staff costs, electricity, fuel and water. Accordingly, companies raised their output prices. Lastly, the business sentiment remained positive in line with improving client demand and business expansion plans.
PMI is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in approximately 400 private sector companies, which have been carefully selected to accurately represent the true structure of the Ugandan economy, including agriculture, construction, industry, services and wholesale & retail.
The panel is stratified by GDP and company workforce size. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month based on data collected mid-month. A reading above 50 indicates an overall increase in that variable, below 50 an overall decrease.
PMI is a composite index based on five of the individual sub-components with the following weights: New Orders – 0.3, Output – 0.25, Employment – 0.2, Suppliers’ Delivery Times – 0.15, Stock of Items Purchased – 0.1, with the Suppliers’ Delivery Times sub-component inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction. Uganda Composite PMI – actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases was last updated on September of 2019.
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