private sector activity expanded at a faster pace in Mozambique but slowed in Ghana and Uganda and contracted further in Kenya

Mozambique’s PMI rose to 51.3 in June from 50.5 in May as new sales orders accelerated for the fifth consecutive month. The increase in new business saw firms raise their employment levels and output. The pick-up in activity was broad-based, with all five sectors covered in the survey reporting an increase in output. While firms reported an increase in purchase costs, the rate of inflation softened, with selling prices rising moderately as some companies offered discounts to attract customers. More than half of the survey respondents said they were optimistic about the year-ahead outlook. 

In Ghana, private sector activity expanded at a slower pace.  The PMI decreased to 50.4 in June from 51.3 in the prior month as growth in output and new sales orders weakened. Positively, input prices increased at the slowest pace in three years, amid relatively stable exchange rates. This fed through to a softer increase in selling prices, with the rate of output price inflation easing for the seventh consecutive month to the weakest since February 2021. Overall, the continued improvement in business conditions saw confidence about the year-ahead outlook strengthen to the highest level this year.