Nigeria’s economic activities continued to expand for the sixth consecutive month, reaching 52.1 index points in May 2025, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report.
The CBN report showed that key sectors—including Industry, Services, and Agriculture—recorded positive performance during the month under review.
The Industry sector posted a PMI of 51.6 index points, Services stood at 51.7, and Agriculture led with 53.4 index points.
According to the report, the Petroleum and Coal Products subsector within the Industry segment recorded the most significant growth, while the Paper Products subsector experienced the sharpest decline.
“The composite PMI for May 2025 stood at 52.1 index points, reflecting ongoing expansion in overall economic activity for the sixth month in a row,” the CBN stated.
Out of 36 subsectors surveyed across the three major sectors, 20 showed signs of growth, with Petroleum and Coal Products topping the list.
Conversely, 16 subsectors declined, with the Paper Products category seeing the largest contraction.
Within the Industry sector, which has now grown for five straight months, 9 out of 17 subsectors recorded improved activity, while 8 experienced declines.
The Petroleum and Coal Products subsector again led in growth, while Paper Products lagged behind.
The Services sector also expanded in May, mainly driven by an increase in new business inflows. Of the 14 subsectors assessed, seven reported expansion, with Educational Services recording the highest growth.
On the flip side, Transportation and Warehousing experienced the steepest decline.
Agriculture maintained its positive momentum, marking the tenth consecutive month of growth.
Four of the five subsectors under Agriculture recorded gains, with Forestry leading the pack.
The Fishing/Fish Farming subsector was the only one to register a contraction.
On the cost front, the report revealed that input prices were higher than output prices across all sectors, suggesting increasing pressure on operating costs.
This trend, according to the CBN, could lead to rising inflation if businesses are unable to sustain cost absorption.
The Agriculture sector showed the highest level of cost absorption in May, at 10.5 points, while Services recorded the lowest at 4.4 points.
Agriculture also had the highest input cost index, while both Industry and Agriculture topped the output price index.
The Services sector recorded the lowest input and output price levels.
Overall, the data for May 2025 signals a continued but moderate improvement in economic activity, reinforcing a positive outlook for Nigeria’s second quarter (Q2) economic performance.
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