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Stronger client demand supported a moderate increase in private sector activity, which was the fastest recorded since July 2023. Increased sales and output requirements encouraged firms to stockpile inputs, as supplier delivery times also improved. Selling prices rose at the sharpest rate for ten months, despite a cooling of input price pressures
Business conditions in Mozambique improved for the second month in a row, according to the June Standard Bank Mozambique PMI® survey. Stronger client demand supported a moderate increase in private sector activity, which was the fastest recorded since July 2023. Increased sales and output requirements encouraged firms to stockpile inputs, as supplier delivery times also improved. Selling prices rose at the sharpest rate for ten months, despite a cooling of input price pressures.
The headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions in the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration.
At 51.0 in June, the headline index was up fractionally from 50.9 in May, and above the 50.0 no-change threshold for the second successive month. The index signaled a slight upturn in the health of the private sector economy.
Business activity across Mozambique expanded for the third month in a row during June, as firms stepped up their operations due to higher customer numbers and stronger demand conditions. The rate of output growth was the quickest seen in 11 months, with all five sectors covered by the survey registering an upturn since May. Growth of new order inflows also strengthened in June, as survey panelists commented on the arrival of new customers and greater work requests.
Rising demand levels precipitated another increase in inventory levels in June. Stocks of purchases rose for the second straight month, following seven months of reduction. The expansion softened from May and was only slight, due in part to a weaker uplift in purchasing activity.
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Despite a stronger rise in output, employment growth was fairly subdued at the end of the second quarter. The latest data showed only a marginal rise in overall staffing numbers. Concurrently, firms noted an increase in their backlogs for the first time in four months, and the sharpest uplift since April 2021.
