Nigeria’s inflation eases to 15.91% in June amid rising food prices — NBS

Nigeria's headline inflation rate saw a marginal decrease in June, settling at 15.91%, down from 15.93% in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This slight easing offers a modest indication of slowing price pressures, although food prices continue to climb, impacting household budgets.

The NBS Consumer Price Index report revealed that the year-on-year headline inflation rate was significantly lower than the 25.29% recorded in June of the previous year. On a month-on-month basis, inflation slowed to 1.66% in June from 1.75% in May, signifying a slower pace of average price level increases during the month. The Consumer Price Index itself rose to 143.0 in June from 140.7 in May.

Despite the overall moderation, food inflation remained a significant concern. On a year-on-year basis, food inflation stood at 17.52% in June, a decrease from 25.41% in the same period last year. However, on a month-on-month basis, food inflation increased to 3.75% in June from 2.98% in May. This rise was attributed to higher prices for staple items such as pepper, tomatoes, crayfish, beef, garri, yam, bananas, and potatoes. Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the largest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, also moderated. Year-on-year core inflation stood at 15.92% in June, down from 25.41% in the corresponding period last year. Month-on-month, core inflation slowed to 1.66% from 1.94% in May. The average headline inflation rate for the 12 months ending June was 17.63%, a notable decrease from 29.82% in the previous year. Urban inflation was recorded at 16.08% year-on-year, while rural inflation stood at 15.48%.

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This means that in June 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in May 2026