Economic activities within Nigeria’s industrial sector experienced a notable decline in August 2025, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report. The decline, recorded at 49.1 index points, reflects a contraction in industrial activities, marking a reversal after months of growth.
The CBN’s report, released today, highlighted that 10 out of the 17 sub-sectors surveyed saw reductions in output, new orders, and employment during the month of August. Specifically, the Output Index fell to 49.6, New Orders dropped to 47.2, and the Employment Index stood at 48.9, all reflecting contraction.
Meanwhile, the Stock of Raw Materials Index recorded a contraction at 48.9 index points, further signalling reduced industrial activity. Despite these setbacks, the Suppliers’ Delivery Time Index recorded a positive trend, with a reading of 52.4, suggesting faster delivery times for materials during the period.
While the industrial sector faced challenges, the Services and Agriculture sectors continued their positive momentum. The Services sector recorded an expansion with an index of 51.9, marking its seventh consecutive month of growth. Similarly, the Agriculture sector maintained its growth streak with an index of 53.9, its thirteenth consecutive month of expansion. The Agriculture sector, in particular, showed broad-based growth across all five subsectors.
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Despite the decline in industrial output, Nigeria’s overall economic activity expanded at 51.7 index points in August, reflecting growth for the ninth consecutive month. This growth was largely driven by the Services and Agriculture sectors, which together contributed to a positive outlook for the third quarter of 2025.
“The expansion seen in the Services and Agriculture sectors underpins a favourable outlook for the economy in the third quarter,” the CBN noted in its report.
In terms of price pressures, the industrial sector recorded the highest input and output price gap in August, at 7.4 points, while the Services sector showed the lowest price disparity at 3.7 points.
Overall, the PMI data for August 2025 indicates a continuation of economic expansion across Nigeria, despite some challenges in the industrial sector. With 22 out of 36 subsectors showing positive activity, the outlook for the remainder of the year remains cautiously optimistic, particularly with strong performances in agriculture and services.
This expansion sets the stage for further growth in the latter half of 2025, with policymakers and businesses alike hopeful that the positive trends in non-industrial sectors will offset any setbacks in manufacturing and industrial output.
