Nigeria’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 54.0 points in September 2025, up from 51.7 points in August, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said in its latest monthly report. The reading marks the tenth consecutive month of expansion in business activity across key sectors.

The CBN said the improvement reflects stronger performance in agriculture, services, and industry, with all three sectors recording expansion during the month. The PMI is based on responses from purchasing managers on business conditions, where a reading above 50.0 indicates growth.

The agriculture sector maintained its strong momentum, rising to 54.8 points from 53.9, extending a 14-month expansion streak. The services sector improved to 54.7 from 51.9, its eighth consecutive month of growth, while industry rebounded to 51.4 after briefly contracting in August.

Among sub-indices, suppliers’ delivery times rose to 54.6 points from 52.4, raw-material inventories climbed to 54.6 from 51.2, and new orders strengthened to 53.7 from 50.9, reflecting improved supply conditions and demand. Employment levels increased to 53.4 from 51.0, signalling a more resilient labour market.

The CBN said the results suggest that Nigeria’s economic recovery is gaining pace, supported by monetary easing and stabilising inflation expectations. However, it warned that persistent inflationary pressures could slow improvement in business activity if input costs rise faster than output growth.

By contrast, the Stanbic IBTC/S&P Global private-sector PMI slipped to 53.4 in September from 54.2 in August, suggesting a more moderate pace of expansion among non-state-linked firms, and a still-uneven recovery between public- and private-sector sentiment.

“Private-sector activity continued to rise, but the rate of growth softened as firms faced elevated input costs and currency pressures,” said Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.