Economy exits contraction but households remain pessimistic — CBN

•As PMI rebounds to 50.1pts •Business confidence moderates to 7.2pts •Households shun houses, cars, investments

•Food remains top spending priority

By Babajide Komolafe

Nigeria’s economy exited contraction in June as the Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI, rebounded to 50.1 points from 49.6 points in May, driven by sustained expansion in the agriculture sector despite continued weakness in industry and services, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said in its latest PMI Report released yesterday.

But, according to another report, Household Expectations Survey (HES), also released yesterday by the apex bank, Nigerians remained pessimistic about prevailing economic conditions in June despite growing optimism about the medium-term outlook.