Nigeria’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.0 points in September 2026, from 52.7 points in August, marking the fourth consecutive month of expansion in overall economic activity.
The latest report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that the improved PMI in the month under review was based on performances of the Industry, Services and Agriculture sectors.
According to the report, the September PMI reading was supported by growth in output, new orders, employment and raw material inventories, and improvement in supplier delivery times.
The apex bank reported that the September composite PMI trend reflected continued expansion across the economy, with New Orders posting the strongest month-on-month improvement among the major components.
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While the Output Index stood at 53.9 points, New Orders and Employment indices recorded 53.7 and 51.5 points respectively, just as the Stock of Raw Materials Index expanded at 52.1 points, and the Suppliers’ Delivery Time Index stood at 52.7 points, indicating improved supplier response times.
The CBN report showed that in the month under review, 23 subsectors recorded expansion, with Educational Services reporting the strongest growth, while nine subsectors contracted, with Chemical & Pharmaceutical Products recording the steepest decline.
A further analysis of the PMI indicated that the Industry PMI rose to 52.0 points in September from 50.6 points in August, marking a second consecutive month of expansion in industrial activity.
The report showed that the Industry Output Index increased to 53.2 points, supported by New Orders at 51.7 points and Employment at 51.1 points, the Raw Materials Inventory Index returned to expansion at 51.1 points, compared with 49.4 points in August, and the Suppliers’ Delivery Time Index stood at 52.7 points, indicating improved supply chain efficiency and faster supplier delivery times.
While !0 of the 16 industrial subsectors recorded expansion in September, with Water Supply, Sewerage & Waste Management posting the strongest growth, six industrial subsectors contracted during the month, with Chemical & Pharmaceutical Products recording the steepest decline.
Similarly, the Services PMI stood at 53.2 points in September, broadly unchanged from 53.3 points in August and marking a third consecutive month of expansion in services activity. With nine of the 11 services subsectors surveyed recording expansion in September, the Educational Services posted the strongest expansion among the services subsectors, compared with the Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, which recorded the highest contraction.
The CBN reported that the Agriculture PMI marginally declined to 53.1 points in September from 53.4 points in August but remained above the 50-point threshold for the 26th consecutive month.
It clarified that four of the five agricultural subsectors recorded growth, with Livestock posting the strongest expansion, with General Farming Activities, New Orders, Employment and Inventories also expanding at 54.6, 54.4, 51.4 and 52.1 points respectively.
The report reflected that Agricultural Support Services was the only subsector that contracted in the Agriculture sector during the review month.
The apex bank also reported mixed price movements during September, with the composite input price index rising by 0.8 points while the output price index declined by 0.5 points.
