Growth momentum in the private sector accelerated in June, according to Standard Bank's PMI indicator, which reflects private sector expectations about the economy.

The trend follows "rapid growth in output, new orders and employment," says the indicator's latest release, which puts it at 52.9, the highest since November 2015.

In this analysis, values above 50 point to an improvement in business conditions in the previous month, while values below 50 show a deterioration.

According to the bank, "new orders increased at the fastest pace in nearly four years as improved customer confidence and higher affluence culminated in a sharp increase in demand." 

"As workloads have increased, companies have increased their number of employees at the highest rate in the last year and a half," he adds.

The scenario has another side to it: "The most recent data also showed a sharp increase in the prices of the means of production.

The rise is due to "the demand for raw materials and the devaluation of the metical" and production costs have thus reached "the sharpest increase in almost two years.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) published by Standard Bank is derived from the responses of purchasing managers from a panel of about 400 private sector companies.