Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.39 per cent in August from 15.43 per cent in July, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.
The NBS said the figure represented a significant slowdown in the pace of price increases, with inflation remaining well below the 23.14 per cent recorded in August 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation fell sharply to 0.71 per cent in August, compared with 1.57 per cent in July.
Food inflation also moderated, declining to 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August from 25.30 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The food inflation index fell to 1.02 per cent month-on-month in August from 5.56 per cent in July, representing a 4.55 percentage-point decline.
The statistics agency attributed the moderation largely to changes in the average prices of several food items, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon (egusi), fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey.
The easing in food prices contributed significantly to the marginal decline in the overall inflation rate during the month under review.
At the divisional level, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation, accounting for 6.16 per cent. This was followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 1.99 per cent, while transport contributed 1.64 per cent.
Recreation, sport and culture contributed 0.05 per cent, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics accounted for 0.06 per cent, while insurance and financial services contributed 0.07 per cent.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 13.29 per cent year-on-year in August, indicating further moderation.
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation stood at -0.06 per cent in August, compared with 0.15 per cent in July.
During the month, farm produce recorded a month-on-month inflation rate of 1.35 per cent, followed by imported food at 0.91 per cent, goods at 0.45 per cent and services at 0.12 per cent. Energy recorded a negative inflation rate of -0.36 per cent.
On a year-on-year basis, farm produce recorded the highest inflation rate at 21.52 per cent, followed by services at 15.38 per cent, goods at 14.74 per cent, imported food at 12.82 per cent and energy at 4.69 per cent.
Meanwhile, urban inflation stood at 15.88 per cent year-on-year in August, while the month-on-month rate declined sharply to 0.28 per cent from 1.90 per cent in July.
Rural inflation was lower at 14.23 per cent year-on-year. However, its month-on-month rate increased to 1.79 per cent in August from 0.78 per cent in July.
