Confidence in Nigeria’s economy strengthened further in June 2025, with the Industry sector leading the surge, as the overall Confidence Index rose to 20.7 index points from 18.7 in May.
The latest figure reflects rising optimism among businesses about macroeconomic prospects, particularly in industry-driven activity. This was disclosed in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Business Expectations Survey (BES) for June 2025, which was published on its website on Friday.
The report highlights growing confidence among respondent firms and forecasts that this optimistic trend will continue over the next six months, with the index projected to rise to 41.3 index points.
Read also: Rising investor confidence fuels new manufacturing investments
The sustained upward trend across all time frames signals broad-based business optimism, driven largely by expectations of higher volumes of business activity. The June 2025 survey, conducted from June 16 to 20, covered a sample of 1,900 business enterprises nationwide, drawn from the CBN and National Bureau of Statistics’ updated Business Establishment Frame. The response rate was 98.1 percent, spanning key sectors including Industry, Services, and Agriculture.
In the review month, all sectors reported a positive outlook on the macroeconomy, with the Industry sector showing the highest confidence at 23.1 index points. This trend is expected to strengthen further over the next six months, as the confidence index for the Industry and Agriculture sectors is projected to more than double to 48.3 and 42.8 index points, respectively. The Services sector also posted improved levels of optimism across the surveyed periods.
Regionally, firms in all parts of the country shared in the positive outlook. The North-East recorded the highest confidence level at 37.1 index points, while the South-East posted the lowest at 4.4 index points. According to the survey, the subdued optimism in the South-East was largely due to concerns about high interest rates.
On their own operations, all sectors expressed optimism in June, with the Construction sector leading at 15.4 index points. Respondents also maintained a positive view on key indicators such as Volume of Business Activity, Volume of Total Order, and Financial Condition Index.
Businesses expect activity to pick up in the coming months, with indications of increased hiring in July 2025. The Construction sector showed the highest employment prospects, while the Mining & Quarrying sector topped the chart for expected expansion in July.
Read also: Business confidence grows but cost pressures weigh on firms
Despite the optimism, businesses flagged key challenges to operations. High interest rates (75.6), insecurity (75.2), and insufficient power supply (74.3) were identified as the top three constraints. At the lower end were unfavourable political climate (62.5) and poor infrastructure (62.4), suggesting a greater concern about economic and structural issues than political risks.
Firms also expect the naira to appreciate against the US dollar in the coming months, while anticipating a rise in borrowing costs.
Average capacity utilisation across all sectors dipped slightly to 58.2 percent in June from 58.7 percent in May, pointing to a marginal drop in resource usage among the firms surveyed.
In May 2025, the Confidence Index stood at 18.7 index points, with projections for a continued rise to 41.1 index points over six months. The further rise to 20.7 index points in June underscores expectations of a steady improvement in business sentiment.
