Bangladesh's overall Bangladesh Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) score in October saw an increase of 6.0 points from September to reach 55.7
The October reading increased by 6 points from the previous month to revert to an expansion at 55.7, after recording 3 months of consecutive contractions.
The latest PMI readings provide early indications of a return to expansion track for the Bangladesh economy with the agriculture, construction, and service sector posting expansion for the first time in months, whereas the manufacturing sector posted a faster rate of expansion.
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka and Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB) released the PMI September report on Thursday.
The PMI is an initiative that aims to offer timely and accurate insights into the country's economic health to help businesses, investors and policy makers make informed decisions.
It was developed by MCCI and Policy Exchange, with support from the UK Government and technical support from Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM).
The agriculture sector reverted to an expansion after recording 3 months of consecutive contractions.
The sector posted a first-time expansion for the indexes of new business and business activity, whereas employment posted a faster contraction.
The input costs index posted a faster expansion, whereas the order backlogs index posted a slower contraction.
The manufacturing sector posted a faster rate of expansion.
The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new orders, new exports, factory output, input purchases, and input prices.
Contraction readings were recorded for the indexes of finished goods, imports, employment, supplier deliveries, and order backlogs.
The construction sector reverted to a marginal expansion after recording 3 months of consecutive contractions.
The sector posted slower contraction readings for indices of construction activity, employment, order backlogs, but the new business index reverted to a marginal contraction. The input costs index posted a faster rate of expansion.
The services sector reverted to an expansion after recording 3 months of consecutive contractions.
The sector posted a first-time expansion for the business activity indices and order backlogs.
The new business index posted a slower expansion, whereas the input costs index posted a faster expansion. The employment index posted a slower contraction.
In terms of the future business index, slower expansion rates were recorded for all key sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services.
Despite all key sectors of the economy posting expansion readings, the country continues to grapple with domestic challenges such as frequent protests, sluggish improvements in law and order, as well as slowdown in public administration.
