Dike Onwuamaeze
Agriculture and manufacturing sectors recorded sharp rises in output while the services and the wholesale and retail sectors booked modest growth in the month of July 2026.
This was reported in the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), whose headline PMI registered 52.5 in July, though down from 53.4 in June but still above the 50.0 no-change mark and signalling a sixth successive monthly strengthening in the health of the private sector.
According to the report: “Improving demand conditions supported a further increase in business activity, albeit one that was only modest and the slowest since January.The agriculture and manufacturing sectors posted sharp rises in output, with growth more modest in the se rvices and wholesale and retail categories. A modest increase in employment was also recorded in July as companies responded to higher output requirements. Though the pace of growth eased to a three-month low.”
The report showed a sharp rise in new orders, expansions in output and higher employment and softened inflationary pressures during the month.
It stated, “growth was maintained in the Nigerian private sector during July as firms again signalled a marked increase in new orders during the month. In turn, output and employment also rose, albeit modestly. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures softened.”
The report said that higher output requirements and efforts to keep on top of workloads contributed to a further monthly rise in employment in July.
“Staffing levels have now increased in 14 consecutive months. The pace of job creation remained slight and eased to the weakest since April. Workforce numbers expanded across all four broad sectors covered by the report,” it said.
It stated that inflationary pressures eased as the second half of 2026 got underway.
“Overall input costs increased at the slowest pace in five months, but still sharply overall. Meanwhile, there was a marked easing in the pace of purchase price inflation to the weakest since February. Panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials,” the PMI said.
Commenting on the PMI report, the Head of Equity Research West Africa, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Muyiwa Oni, said , “Nigerian businesses reported improved customer demand in July while better pricing and new product launches also helped them to capture new orders arising from the increase in demand.
“These factors helped to keep the private sector activity in an expansionary territory, although this moderated when compared to June. Notably, the headline PMI settled at 52.5 points in July after the 53.4 points recorded in June, presenting the slowest since March 2026. Businesses also increased their input purchasing activity, linking this to efforts to keep up with current demand requirements and prepare for future workloads.”
Oni said that while input costs increased at their slowest pace in five months, panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials.
He said that selling prices also softened in line with the picture for input costs in July as headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent year-on-year in June from 15.93 per cent year-on-year (y/y) in May, snapping three consecutive months of price increases, adding that although July inflation is likely to be higher on month-to-month basis, it is expected that inflation y/y would be lower.