Nigeria’s Inflation Eases to 15.39% as Food Price Increases Slow -NBS

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell slightly to 15.39 per cent in August 2026, as the rate of increase in food prices slowed significantly, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for August 2026, released on Monday.

The latest figure represents a 0.04 percentage-point decline from the 15.43 per cent recorded in July 2026 and a significant reduction from the 23.14 per cent recorded in August 2025.

According to the NBS, the headline inflation rate stood at 15.39 per cent in August, compared with 15.43 per cent in July and 23.14 per cent during the same period in 2025.

Despite the decline in the annual inflation rate, the Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services consumed by households, increased from 145.3 points in July to 146.3 points in August.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed considerably to 0.71 per cent in August, compared with 1.57 per cent in July. This indicates that prices continued to rise, but at a slower pace.

The NBS attributed the moderation largely to changes in the prices of several food items, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon, fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey.

Food Inflation Declines
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to annual inflation, accounting for 6.16 percentage points.
They were followed by restaurants and accommodation services with 1.99 percentage points, transport with 1.64 points, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 1.30 points.

Food inflation stood at 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, down from 25.30 per cent in August 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation also recorded a sharp decline, falling to 1.02 per cent in August from 5.56 per cent in July.

The NBS said the figures showed that the average prices of food items were still increasing but at a decreasing rate.

Core Inflation Also Moderates
Core inflation, which excludes some volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, also declined significantly.

It stood at 13.29 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, compared with 22.93 per cent recorded in August 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, core inflation fell to -0.06 per cent in August, compared with 0.15 per cent in July.

However, inflationary pressures continued to differ across the various parts of the country.

Urban inflation stood at 15.88 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation was lower at 14.23 per cent.

On a monthly basis, rural inflation increased to 1.79 per cent from 0.78 per cent in July, while urban inflation slowed sharply to 0.28 per cent from 1.90 per cent.

Lagos Records Highest Headline Inflation

At the state level, Lagos recorded the highest headline inflation rate at 23.68 per cent, followed by Zamfara at 22.56 per cent and Enugu at 22.06 per cent.

Sokoto recorded the lowest headline inflation rate at 2.11 per cent.

For food inflation, Adamawa recorded the highest rate at 38.85 per cent, followed by Zamfara at 37.96 per cent and Bayelsa at 36.20 per cent.

The NBS, however, cautioned that differences in consumption patterns and the weights assigned to various items in the Consumer Price Index mean that direct comparisons of inflation rates between states may be misleading.

The latest figures indicate a continued moderation in Nigeria’s inflation rate, particularly in food prices, although the overall cost of living remains a significant concern for households and businesses across the country.

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