April 10, 2025/CSL Research
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently released the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report for March 2025, covering the Industry, Services, and Agriculture sectors. The composite PMI stood at 52.3 points, indicating continued expansion in economic activity. This marks the fourth consecutive month of growth, following PMI readings of 51.3 in December 2024, 50.2 in January 2025, and 51.4 in February 2025.
A PMI above 50.0 points typically signifies an increase in business activity, while a reading below that threshold indicates contraction. In terms of sectoral performance, Agriculture continued its growth streak for the eighth consecutive month, posting a PMI of 54.7 points. The Industry sector maintained its momentum with a PMI of 51.5 points, marking its fourth straight month of expansion. Similarly, the Services sector grew to 51.5 points, a slight increase from 51.1 points in February.
Across the various PMI indicators for March 2025, suppliers’ delivery time recorded the strongest expansion, rising to 53.1 points from 52.6 points in February, indicating faster deliveries. New orders also increased, reaching 52.2 points compared to 50.5 points the previous month, reflecting stronger production activity and improved demand. The employment level showed a marginal improvement, ticking up to 51.7 points from 51.3 in February, suggesting relative stability in the labour market. Meanwhile, the stock/inventory of raw materials expanded at a slower pace, registering 51.8 points compared to 52.0 points in the previous month. This slowdown may be attributed to inventory stockpiling by manufacturers in February, following a period of contraction in Q4 2024.
In March 2025, output levels and new orders rose across all sectors, driven by easing inflationary pressures that improved domestic demand conditions. Suppliers’ delivery times also continued to shorten, with enhanced vendor performance attributed to prompt payments. Looking ahead, overall production and composite output levels are expected to remain in expansion zone. This outlook is underpinned by expectations of sustained inflation moderation, which should help reduce input costs. However, a key downside risk is the intensifying global trade tensions, particularly due to steep tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on multiple countries. These trade barriers could further weigh on composite import and export orders, which have remained in contraction for over 12 months. As of March, import and export order readings stood at 48.4 points and 45.1 points, respectively.
Click here to download full report: CSL Nigeria Daily – 10 April 2025 – PMI.pdf
