Kenya private sector activity rises in November – PMI

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s private sector activity rose in November after falling a month earlier, helped by improved output in the agriculture and construction sectors, a survey showed on Monday

The S&P Global Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.9 in November from 50.2 a month earlier. It stood at 51.7 in September. Readings above 50.0 signal growth in business activity, while those below that point to a contraction.

“Sector data showed that growth was broad-based in November, led by construction and agriculture,” S&P Global said in comments accompanying the survey.

Kenya’s inflation fell to 9.5% year-on-year in November from 9.6% a month earlier, data from the statistics office showed, its first drop since February, helped by easing prices of food and fuel.

The survey showed that input costs rose, due to higher import costs due to a weaker shilling versus the dollar, higher taxation and transport costs.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Toby Chopra)