Private Sector Sustains Growth Momentum As Purchasing Index Hits 53.4 In September

Nigeria’s backstage assemblage maintained its maturation trajectory successful September 2025, with the Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posting supra the 50.0 no-change people for the 10th consecutive month.

Although the header PMI dropped to 53.4 from 54.2 successful August, it again pointed to a coagulated strengthening of concern conditions and signalled a sustained betterment successful the wellness of the Nigerian backstage sector.

Stanbic IBTC’s PMI study for September noted improvements successful output and caller orders, portion the gait of occupation instauration quickened to the fastest successful astir 2 years.

“Companies were helped by the caller alleviation of inflationary pressures, which mostly continued into September. In fact, firms’ acquisition costs accrued astatine the slowest gait successful five-and-a-half years,” the study said.

It added that “new concern accrued markedly successful September amid improvements successful lawsuit request and the motorboat of caller products. In enactment with the header index, however, the maturation complaint eased to a three-month low.

“The emergence successful caller orders fed done to a crisp enlargement of concern activity, with increases seen crossed each of the 4 wide sectors covered by the report.

“Higher output requirements encouraged firms to grow their operating capableness successful September, with some employment and purchasing enactment rising. Staffing levels accrued modestly, but astatine the sharpest gait since October 2023.”

The study besides noted that “the maturation complaint successful input buying remained crisp and fed done to an accumulation of inventories. Respondents indicated that stocks of purchases had been raised to cater for existent and aboriginal request and facilitate caller merchandise development.

“Companies continued to spot a wide easing of inflationary pressures successful September. Overall input prices accrued astatine the slowest gait successful two- two-and-a-half years amid weaker rises successful some acquisition prices and unit costs. In fact, the complaint of acquisition terms ostentation was the softest since March 2020.”

The caput of Equity Research West Africa astatine Stanbic IBTC Bank, Muyiwa Oni, stated, “Nigeria’s concern conditions ended the 4th connected a beardown note, though the gait of strengthening moderated comparative to August.

“Specifically, the header PMI settled astatine 53.4 points successful September from 54.2 successful August, buoyed by betterment successful output and caller orders, portion inflationary pressures besides continued to soften.”

He noted that the complaint of enlargement successful output remained beardown contempt easing somewhat compared to August. This was linked to improving lawsuit request and amended worldly availability, which enabled the firms to boost activity.

He emphasised that “based connected this, businesses were capable to motorboat caller products, thereby supporting an summation successful caller orders, which remained supra the 50-point maturation threshold for the 11th consecutive period adjacent arsenic the complaint of maturation eased to a three-month low.”