Nigeria’s private sector continues to show signs of resilience as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest report announced that the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.3 points in March 2025, up from 51.4 points in February.
This is the third consecutive month of expansion in business activities and new orders, largely fueled by improving customer demand and a growing commitment to new projects across various sectors.
According to the CBN, the sustained growth was broad-based, with the Industry, Services, and Agriculture sectors all recording positive momentum. The Agriculture sector led with a PMI of 54.7 points, showing the strongest growth among the sectors. Both the Industry and Services sectors posted PMIs of 51.5 points, indicating steady, moderate expansions.
The report further highlighted that several key indicators showed encouraging signs. The Output Index rose to 52.8 points, signaling higher production levels, while the New Orders Index reached 52.2 points, pointing to an increase in business demand. Employment also improved, with the Employment Index recording 51.7 points, suggesting moderate job creation across the economy.
- Advertisement -
At a more detailed level, 24 out of 36 tracked subsectors reported growth in economic activities. Forestry emerged as the fastest-growing subsector, while Nonmetallic Mineral Products experienced the steepest contraction among the 12 declining subsectors.
The report also noted varying inflationary pressures across sectors. The Industry sector recorded the highest input price inflation, while the Services sector faced the highest output price inflation. Conversely, the Agriculture sector saw relatively stable costs, with the lowest increases in input and output prices.
Overall, the sustained PMI growth reflects rising business confidence in Nigeria, despite prevailing economic challenges. Businesses are not only expanding but are also hiring more staff and stockpiling inventories in anticipation of future demand. However, persistent inflationary pressures in certain sectors could pose risks to profitability and consumer prices going forward.
