Gauges measuring sentiment in the private sector fell in six of seven sub-Saharan African economies tracked in March, as supply disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fan prices.
The war has exacerbated trade shocks caused by the coronavirus pandemic and extreme weather. Prices of items such as sunflower oil, crude, fertiliser and wheat have soared since it began.
In Kenya, the latest purchasing managers’ index compiled by S&P Global and Stanbic Bank points to near-unprecedented surges in input costs and output charges that were often a direct result of the conflict.
These price pressures meant many customers chose to reduce spending, leading to a smaller increase in sales across the private sector in the East African country, business output contracting for the second time in three months and confidence in future activity falling to the lowest level in the study’s history, the companies said in a statement.
In Ghana, where
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