By Obinna Uballa
Nigeria’s economy continued its steady expansion in October 2025, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 55.4 points, up from 54.0 points recorded in September.
The latest CBN PMI report seen by The New Diplomat on Wednesday shows that the economy has now expanded for eleven consecutive months, reflecting broad-based growth across the industry, services, and agriculture sectors.
“The composite PMI stood at 55.4 index points in October 2025, compared with 54.0 index points in September 2025, indicating a stronger and broad-based expansion in aggregate economic activity. This marks the eleventh consecutive month of expansion,” the report said.
The industry sector maintained an expansionary trajectory with a PMI of 54.2 points, as nine out of 17 subsectors recorded positive growth during the review month.
In the services sector, activity strengthened further, posting a PMI of 55.6 points, the ninth straight month of growth. The report noted that 11 of 14 subsectors in the services category expanded, highlighting continued business confidence across key service industries.
The agriculture sector also recorded another strong performance, with a PMI of 55.7 points, extending its growth streak to fifteen months. All five subsectors in agriculture expanded during the period, though the sector experienced the widest input-output price gap (8.4 index points), suggesting persistent cost pressures on farm produce.
By comparison, the services sector recorded the narrowest price gap of 0.6 index points, indicating relatively stable pricing conditions.
Across the 36 subsectors covered in the survey, 25 reported growth, led by the educational services subsector, which recorded the strongest expansion. Eleven subsectors, including petroleum and coal products, posted mild contractions, but their impact was not sufficient to offset the broader upward trend.
