The Stanbic IBTC's Nigeria's Purchasing Manager Index (PMI), which gauges the overall direction the economy is heading and the health of the economy, gives an outlook of Nigeria's economy for the month of September.

Nigeria's private sector reported what could hardly pass as growth in September, with prices of inputs accelerating at one of the swiftest rates ever in response to a weaker naira and steeper cost of running business.

The country's purchasing manager index (PMI), which gauges the overall direction the economy is heading and the health of the economy, stood at 51.1 in the month that just went by, compared to 50.2 in August, according to Stanbic IBTC's Nigeria's PMI issued on Monday.

A reading above 50 points indicates growth while that below 50 points means contraction.

Compiled from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of about 400 private sector companies, Nigeria's headline PMI, like every other nation's, guides analysts, investors and financial professionals in decision-making, often released ahead of other key economic data.

The Central Bank of Nigeria refrained from releasing the data at the end of 2020 after at least five years of consistent publication, forcing Stanbic IBTC to take up the task, which it undertakes in collaboration with S&P Global and Nigeria's statistics office.

"Prices remained elevated, with input and purchase prices remaining at period highs," said Muyiwa Oni, who heads equity research for West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank.

"Input prices increased materially across the major sectors covered, with inflationary pressures most pronounced in wholesale & retail and manufacturing."

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