In August 2025, the private sector in Nigeria recorded a Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of 54.2 points, higher than the 54.0 recorded in July, pointing to a solid strengthening of business conditions and one that was the most pronounced since April, signalling a sustained improvement.
This information was revealed by Stanbic IBTC in its PMI reading made available to Business Post on Monday. It was the nine month running the index was moving above the 50.0 mark.
In the statement, it was revealed that growth in the Nigerian private sector has continued to gain momentum as customer demand improved and inflationary pressures softened.
Sharper increases in output and new orders were recorded, although rates of expansion in purchasing activity and employment eased.
Meanwhile, business confidence softened but firms remained optimistic that output will increase over the coming year.
The rise in the headline index primarily reflected sharper expansions in output and new orders, with rates of growth hitting four- and 19-month highs, respectively.
Panellists reported stronger customer demand and a greater willingness among clients to commit to new projects. Output increased across three of the four broad sectors covered by the survey, the exception being manufacturing.
“Business activity increased further in August and has remained above 50 points for the ninth consecutive month. The increase in business activity was driven by sharper increases in output and new orders.
“Notably, output (56.8 points vs July: 56.1 points) increased in line with customers’ willingness to commit to new projects, while the growth in new orders (58.3 points vs July: 57.3 points) quickened to a 19-month high amid reports of increasing customer demand.
“Given these higher new orders, firms expanded their staffing levels for the third consecutive month,” the Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Muyiwa Oni, stated.
He noted that the continued moderation of input and output prices still suggests that inflation is likely to remain soft in the near term, and may incentivize the MPC of the CBN to switch to an accommodative monetary policy by September from the current neutral stance.
“Indeed, we estimate headline inflation to moderate further in August to 21.45 per cent y/y – 21.63 per cent y/y, and possibly settle at 17.19 per cent y/y – 17.92 per cent y/y by November. Accordingly, we still expect up to 150 bps cumulative rate cut in 2025,” Mr Oni noted.