LAGOS — Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.91% in June 2026, marking a marginal decline from the 15.93% recorded in May. It is the first slowdown in three months.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, the annual inflation rate fell from 25.29% recorded in June 2025.
The marginal year-on-year drop provides a brief breather for the economy. This comes ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s upcoming Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for late July.
However, underlying pressures persist. On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation moderated only slightly to 1.66% in June 2026, compared to the 1.75% pace registered in May.
The slight decline in monthly headline inflation was supported by core inflation. Core CPI, which excludes volatile farm produce and energy, slowed monthly to 1.66% from 1.94% in May.
In stark contrast, food price pressures intensified. Annual food inflation rose to 17.52% in June. This represents a significant month-on-month acceleration to 3.75% from May’s 2.98%.
The National Bureau of Statistics attributed the worsening food costs to average price spikes in staple items. These items include yam, beef, pepper, tomatoes, garri, and cassava flour.
A sharp demographic divergence emerged in monthly trends. Urban month-on-month inflation crept up to 2.13% in June. Meanwhile, rural monthly inflation dropped to 0.52% from May’s 1.17%.
On a year-on-year basis, urban inflation stood at 16.08%. This is down from 26.0% in June 2025. Rural year-on-year inflation settled at 15.48%.
This year-on-year stabilization follows a turbulent period of fuel price shocks linked to Middle East geopolitical tensions. Those shocks previously pushed transport costs and energy prices upward nationwide.
