Nigeria’s economic activity sustained its growth momentum in February 2026 as the composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 56.4 points, representing the 15th consecutive monthly expansion across the broad spectrum of the economy.
The latest PMI report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that in the month under review, the nation’s economic activities improved across the various sectors, with 30 of the 36 subsectors surveyed, indicating improved business conditions in the economy.
The apex bank noted that the improvement across the sectors provided strong evidence of a robust and sustainable growth momentum, underpinning a positive economic outlook in Q1 2026.
According to the PMI data published by the CBN, output stood at 57.6 points, while new orders and employment were recorded at 56.8 points and 54.2 points respectively, indicating sustained increases in production activities and labour engagement across businesses.
- Advertisement -
Similarly, the survey revealed that stock of raw material index also expanded at 54.6 points, while suppliers’ delivery time stood at 58 points, signaling improved delivery efficiency and fast supplier response time to orders in February this year.
The CBN reported: “In February 2026, the PMI data showed a broad-based improvement in economic activity across all sectors relative to the previous month.”
A further analysis of the survey results showed that the industry sector recorded a PMI of 56.8 points in the month, indicating sustained expansion in manufacturing and industrial activities while output, new orders and employment within the sector rose to 59.6 points, 56.3 points and 54.4 points respectively, reflecting increased production and improved labour engagement by businesses.
The apex bank reported that out of the 17 subsectors surveyed in the industry segment, 13 grew, while four recorded marginal contractions that were not strong enough to offset the sector’s overall expansionary trend.
In addition, the PMI report reflected that the Services sector also sustained growth trend with a PMI reading of 55.3 points, marking the thirteenth consecutive month of expansion due to increased incoming business and improved operational activities among firms.
Similarly, 13 of the 14 subsectors within the Services sector recorded expansion during the month, while the professional, scientific and technical services subsector contracted.
The apex bank further clarified that in the February survey, Educational services recorded the strongest expansion among the subsectors surveyed.
The report showed that the Agriculture sector continued its strong performance in the month with a reading of 56.5 points in February, indicating its 19th consecutive month of expansion as four of the five agricultural subsectors led by crop production recorded growth, while forestry posted contraction.
Noting that six subsectors records contractions during the month, with the primary metals subsector reporting the steepest decline, the CBN stated that despite this, the contractions in the affected subsectors were not sufficient to offset the broad expansion in the other 30 sectors.
The CBN also reported a slight increase in input and output price indices in the month under review, indicating rising costs within the production chain, noting that input price indices for the composite index and the three major sectors are higher than the corresponding output price indices during the period.
The apex bank disclosed that the February PMI survey was conducted between February 9 and 13, and covered 1,900 purchasing and supply executives across industry, services and agriculture sectors.
