Nigeria’s Inflation Eases to 15.39% as Food Prices Slow

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell marginally to 15.39 per cent in August 2026 from 15.43 per cent in July, as slower increases in food and other consumer prices continued to ease pressure on households.

The latest National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Tuesday shows that the rate also dropped sharply from 23.14 per cent recorded in August 2025, indicating a significant slowdown in the pace at which consumer prices are rising.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation fell more sharply to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.

This measures the change in prices from one month to the next and indicates that the pace of price increases slowed considerably during the month.

The NBS Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by households, rose to 146.3 points in August from 145.3 points in July, using 2024 as the base period.

Food inflation was a major driver of the overall slowdown, as it fell to 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August from 25.30 per cent a year earlier.

On a monthly basis, food inflation dropped to 1.02 per cent from 5.56 per cent in July, reflecting slower increases in the prices of several staple foods.

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The NBS attributed the decline mainly to slower price growth in palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain and poultry.

The statistics agency said the development meant that food prices were still increasing but at a slower pace.

“This shows that the average prices of food items are increasing at a decreasing rate in August 2026,” the NBS said.

Core inflation, which excludes farm produce and energy prices because they tend to be more volatile, also continued to ease.

The core inflation rate fell to 13.29 per cent year-on-year in August from 22.93 per cent in August 2025.

“The ‘All items less farm produces and energy’ or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produces and energy, stood at 13.29% in August 2026 on a year-on-year basis; a decline of 9.64% when compared to the 22.93% recorded in August 2025,” the NBS said.

Core inflation also turned negative on a monthly basis, falling to -0.06 per cent in August from 0.15 per cent in July.

The slowdown was recorded across several major components of household spending. Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 6.16 percentage points to the annual inflation rate, while restaurants and accommodation services contributed 1.99 points.

Transport contributed 1.64 points, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.30 points. Education services added 0.95 points.

However, inflation remained uneven across the country, with Lagos recording the highest year-on-year all-items 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 rate at 2.11 per cent, followed by Kebbi at 3.72 per cent and Jigawa at 3.81 per cent.

Food price pressures were particularly high in some states. Adamawa recorded the highest food inflation at 38.85 per cent, followed by Zamfara at 37.96 per cent and Bayelsa at 36.20 per cent.

Borno recorded a negative food inflation rate of 4.04 per cent, while Jigawa recorded -0.23 per cent and Kebbi 3.47 per cent.

The disparity shows that the national inflation rate masks significant differences in the cost of living across states.

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

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

The average inflation rate for the 12 months ending August 2026 stood at 16.30 per cent, down from 28.32 per cent in the corresponding period a year earlier.

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