Economy expands slightly as PMI rises to 59.1 in September

Bangladesh’s economy expanded slightly as the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded a faster expansion rate in September after an increase of 0.8 points from August 2025 to reach 59.1.

According to the latest data released today (7 October), the overall improvement was driven by a quicker expansion in the manufacturing sector, while the services sector experienced a slower rate of growth. Both the agriculture and construction sectors returned to expansion territory after several months of weaker performance.

The agriculture sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new business, business activity, and input costs, and the indexes of employment and order backlogs posted slower contraction readings.

The manufacturing sector posted its 13th month of expansion, and at a faster rate. The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new orders, new exports, factory output, input purchases, finished goods, imports, input prices, and supplier deliveries. The employment index reverted to an expansion reading, and the order backlogs index posted a slower contraction.

The construction sector reverted to an expansion reading. The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new business, construction activity, and input costs. The order backlogs index posted a slower contraction, and the employment index reverted to an expansion reading after recording 4 months of contractions.

The services sector posted its 12th month of expansion, but at a slower rate. The sector posted expansion readings for the indexes of new business, business activity, employment, and input costs, and the order backlogs index posted a slower contraction rate.

In terms of the future business index, faster expansion rates were recorded for the indexes of manufacturing, construction, and services sectors, whereas the agriculture sector posted a slower expansion rate.

“The latest PMI readings indicate that the overall Bangladesh economy continued to expand at a slightly faster rate in September. Agriculture and construction sectors reverted to expansion after improvements in weather condition and gradual rollout of the new fiscal year budget. Meanwhile, the service sector posted a slower expansion reading, possibly due to persistent inflation, which is still the highest in South Asia,” M Masrur Reaz, chairman and CEO of the Policy Exchange Bangladesh, commented.

The PMI was developed by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka and the Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB), with support from the UK government and technical assistance from the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management.