NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan private sector activity contracted for the fifth consecutive month in August amid a broader slowdown as the country held elections, a survey showed on Monday.
The S&P Global Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 44.2 in August from 46.3 a month earlier. The index has stayed below the 50.0 mark denoting growth in activity since April.
Kenya held elections for a new president, local authorities and legislators on Aug. 9, a process that largely went off peacefully. Two of the last three presidential elections have led to deadly violence.
“The election had a notable toll on economic activity during August. Output fell steeply and at the quickest pace for 16 months, with the construction sector seeing the greatest decline,” S&P Global wrote in notes accompanying the survey.
Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner of the presidential vote, but opposition leader Raila Odinga has challenged the result in the country’s top court, which must deliver a ruling by Monday.
The economy expanded rapidly in the first quarter of this year, data showed in June, but rising inflation has begun eating into demand and denting the outlook.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
