Inflation eases to 15.43% amid food price surge

Nigeria's headline inflation rate declined to 15.43 percent in July 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), but food prices continued to drive upward pressure on consumer prices, with food inflation accelerating sharply. Headline inflation fell by 0.48 percentage points from 15.91 percent in June 2026, while food inflation rose to 5.56 percent month-on-month, a 1.82 percentage-point increase.

This surge in food prices was attributed to higher average prices of various food items, including crayfish, onions, rice, and others. On a year-on-year basis, food inflation moderated to 20.31 percent in July 2026, compared to 26.20 percent in the same month of 2025. The NBS highlighted that while the overall pace of annual price increases slowed, consumers faced a faster increase in food prices during July 2026 compared to the previous month.

The core inflation rate, excluding volatile agricultural products and energy, fell to 14.97 percent year-on-year in July 2026 from 23.95 percent a year earlier. On a monthly basis, core inflation slowed to 0.15 percent from 1.66 percent in June 2026.