CBN PMI report shows Industrial Sector contraction, overall economic expansion in August 2025

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported a slowdown in Nigeria’s industrial sector, which contracted to 49.1 index points in August 2025, driven by declines in 10 of the 17 subsectors surveyed.

In its August 2025 Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) Report, the CBN stated: “The Industry Sector index, at 49.1 points, indicated contraction in industrial activities in August 2025. Output, New Orders, and Employment indicated decline at 49.6, 47.2, and 48.9 index points, respectively. Stock of Raw Materials also contracted at 48.9 index points.”

The report highlighted that Suppliers’ Delivery Time improved to 52.4 index points, while Transportation Equipment recorded the strongest growth among subsectors. Paper Products showed the steepest decline.

Despite the industrial sector’s contraction, the service and agriculture sectors recorded expansions at 51.9 and 53.9 index points, respectively. This drove overall economic activity growth to 51.7 points, marking nine consecutive months of expansion.

“The composite PMI for August 2025 stood at 51.7 points, indicating expansion in economic activities for the ninth consecutive month. Out of the 36 subsectors covered in the survey, 22 experienced expansion,” the CBN said.

The Service Sector has now recorded growth for seven consecutive months, with 10 out of 14 subsectors expanding in August, while Agriculture has grown for 13 straight months, with all five subsectors recording positive activity.

The data also revealed that the industrial sector had the widest gap between input and output prices at 7.4 points, while services had the lowest at 3.7 points.

The CBN concluded that August’s PMI data indicates “continued economic expansion across Nigeria,” adding that growth in services and agriculture is expected to support a positive outlook for the third quarter of 2025.