"Persistently high inflation has raised concerns that price pressures will remain elevated and weigh on economic activity and consumption for some time to come," Mulalo Madula, an economist at Stanbic Bank, which is involved in the survey, said. (Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Toby Chopra)
george.obulutsa.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) NAIROBI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Kenya's private sector
activity rose for a third consecutive month in January, helped
by improved business in agriculture, manufacturing, services and
wholesale and retail sectors, a survey showed on Friday.
The S&P Global Kenya Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) went
up to 52.0 in January from 51.6 a month earlier. Readings above
50.0 signal growth in business activity, while those below that
point to a contraction.
"For the second month running, construction was the only
monitored sector to see a decline in sales, contrasting with
rises in agriculture, manufacturing, services and wholesale &
retail," S&P Global said in comments accompanying the survey.
However, the survey's respondents were concerned about
inflationary pressures due to higher taxes and a weaker
shilling, it said.
Inflation was 9.0% year-on-year in January from
9.1% a month earlier, the statistics office said. The figure is
still outside the government's preferred band of 2.5-7.5%.
Kenya's shilling, which hit a series of fresh record lows
last year in a trend that has carried over into 2023, closed
last year down 9% versus the dollar.
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