The country’s overall Purchasing Managers’ Index witnessed a gain of 2.7 points in October, recording a faster expansion rate at 61.8 points, according to the latest PMI report published jointly by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka, and Policy Exchange Bangladesh.
The PMI of Bangladesh was 59.1 points in September, a 0.8-point increase from the previous month, according to the report published on Sunday.
This latest PMI reading was attributed to a faster expansion across the key sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services.
The agriculture sector posted its 2nd month of expansion, and at a faster rate.
The sector posted faster expansion readings for the indexes of new business, business activity, and input costs, and the employment index reverted to an expansion reading. However, the order backlogs index posted a faster rate of contraction, the report added.
The manufacturing sector posted its 14th month of expansion, and at a faster rate.
The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new orders, new exports, factory output, input purchases, finished goods, imports, input prices, employment, and supplier deliveries. However, the order backlogs index posted a faster rate of contraction.
According to the PMI report, the construction sector also posted its 2nd month of expansion, and at a faster rate.
The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new business, construction activity, employment, and input costs. The order backlogs index posted a slower rate of contraction.
The services sector posted its 13th month of expansion, and at a faster rate.
The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new business, business activity, employment, and input costs. The order backlogs index reverted to an expansion reading after 2 months of contraction.
In terms of the future business index, slower expansion was recorded across all key sectors—agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services.
M Masrur Reaz, chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, said that the latest PMI readings indicated that the overall Bangladesh economy continued to expand, primarily driven by favourable crop conditions and expectations of a good harvest in the agricultural sector.
‘Other sectors of the economy also posted faster expansion rates, going into the final quarter of the year, with monthly growth in exports and inflation gradually waning,’ he added.
PMI is a survey-based indicator of a sector or country’s business conditions, with monthly surveys that ask respondents to report changes in each variable compared to the prior month.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates that the sector or economy is generally ‘expanding’, where 50 indicates ‘no change’ and below 50 indicates ‘contraction.’