<p>Output and new orders contract Input costs rise amid higher purchase prices and wage bills Firms remain confident in the outlook as employment grows Ugandan private sector firms have registered a deterioration in business conditions during March, thereby ending a 16-month upward improvement sequence in the health of the private sector. The overall decline was [&#8230;]</p>
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Stanbic PMI reports low demand for March

According to Christopher Legilisho, a senior Economist at Stanbic Bank, the headline PMI fell to 49.3 in March, down from 51.7 in February, signalling a decline in the health of the Ugandan private sector at the end of the first quarter.
Still, Ugandan firms increased staffing levels for a twelfth month running, particularly in agriculture and services.
Legilisho further highlights that Ugandan private sector firms remained upbeat in their expectations regarding the outlook for the year-ahead.
“Purchasing activity in Ugandan private sector firms expended again in March, thereby extending the current sequence of growth that began in November 2022.
In line with increased overall cost burdens, Ugandan private sector firms raised their selling prices in March.