Bangladesh PMI softens in January amid continued expansion

The January PMI declined by 0.3 points from the previous month, signalling a moderation in overall expansion. Despite the slowdown, growth persisted across agriculture, manufacturing and services, indicating broad-based resilience in economic activity, PMI Bangladesh said in a press release.

Bangladesh’s economy continued to expand in January, though at a slower pace, as the PMI eased to 53.9, according to PMI Bangladesh.
Growth persisted across all sectors, with manufacturing remaining in expansion for the 17th month despite softer momentum.
While exports and employment weakened, future business sentiment improved.

Manufacturing activity stayed in expansion for the 17th straight month, though growth softened. Key indicators such as new orders, factory output, imports, input prices and supplier deliveries remained in expansion. In contrast, new exports, input purchases, finished goods and employment registered contraction. The order backlogs index returned to expansion during the month.

Looking ahead, business sentiment improved, with the future business index pointing to faster expansion across all major sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services, reflecting stronger expectations for the coming months.

“Overall, the latest PMI readings indicate that the economy experienced a slower expansion, with weak global supply chain recovery and cautious order placement weighing heavy on manufacturing exports. Agriculture sector also showed signs of slowdown after the late autumn paddy harvests. The continued expansion of the future business index across all key sectors however, points to sustained optimism ahead,” said Dr M Masrur Reaz, chairman and CEO, Policy Exchange Bangladesh.

The PMI has been published by MCCI and PEB since January last year. Initiated by the UK government, the index covers more than 500 private sector firms across agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)