Nigeria's PMI Reaches 53.0 Points, Signaling Growth

In September, Nigeria's economic activity continued to expand for the fourth consecutive month, as indicated by the composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) which rose to 53.0 points, up from 52.7 points in August. This growth was supported by stronger industrial performance and improvements in output, new orders, employment, and raw material inventories, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s September PMI report.

However, the overall positive reading concealed uneven performance, with nine subsectors contracting and input prices increasing faster than output prices in services and agriculture. The Output Index reached 53.9 points, while New Orders and Employment indices were at 53.7 points and 51.5 points, respectively.

The industrial sector's PMI increased to 52.0 points, marking its second month of expansion, with ten of the 16 surveyed subsectors expanding. Services maintained expansion, although the sector's PMI slightly decreased to 53.2 points.

Agriculture's PMI remained above 50 for the 26th consecutive month, easing to 53.1 points.