Jibran Qureishi, regional economist East Africa at Stanbic Bank. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- The Stanbic Bank-HIS Markit Purchasing Manager’s Index shows business conditions stabilised at 50.3 points, up from March’s 48.5.
- Business activity recovered after a contraction in March primarily on the back of an increase in new orders.
- New orders were boosted by improved client demand, which was further supported by marketing initiatives.
Business conditions in Kenya saw a
slight uptick in April to stabilise from a record low of the previous
month according to the latest Stanbic Bank-HIS Markit Purchasing
Manager’s Index.
The survey shows business conditions stabilised at 50.3 points, up from March’s 48.5.
Although
above the 50.0 no-change mark, the latest figure was still the
third-lowest recorded since the inception of the series in January 2014
meaning confidence is still weak.
“Business activity
recovered after a contraction in March primarily on the back of an
increase in new orders,” explained Jibran Qureishi, regional economist
east Africa at Stanbic Bank
.
New orders were boosted by improved client demand, which was further supported by marketing initiatives.
Another
factor that saw total new work rise was a sharp expansion in new export
work, which occurred due to an increase in demand from international
markets.
Mr Qureishi, however, warned that despite
domestic demand showing some signs of recovery risks related to drought,
the massive army worm breakout in food growing zones and poll jitters
still pose threat.
“We would still urge caution for now
considering that drought conditions could worsen as a result of the
recent breakout of armyworms, which could destroy the upcoming harvest,”
he said.
“In addition, political risk is likely to
remain elevated which could prompt the private sector to scale back on
investment spending.”
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