Inflation Eases Slightly to 15.91% in June Amid Faster Rise in Food Prices

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 15.93 per cent recorded in May, marking a slight moderation in the pace of overall price increases even as food prices accelerated during the month.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the CPI rose to 143.0 in June from 140.7 in May, reflecting a 2.3-point increase in the general price level.

According to the report, the year-on-year headline inflation rate was 0.02 percentage points lower than the 15.93 per cent recorded in May 2026. Compared with 25.29 per cent recorded in June 2025, inflation has declined significantly over the past year.

On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at 1.66 per cent in June, lower than the 1.75 per cent recorded in May. This indicates that although prices continued to rise, the pace of increase was slower than in the previous month.

The report showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points on a year-on-year basis.

Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, transport 1.70 percentage points, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels added 1.34 percentage points.

Other notable contributors included education services (0.99 percentage points), health (0.96 percentage points), clothing and footwear (0.80 percentage points), information and communication (0.52 percentage points), personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (0.52 percentage points), and furnishings and household maintenance (0.47 percentage points).

On a monthly basis, food and non-alcoholic beverages also made the largest contribution to inflation at 0.66 percentage points, followed by restaurants and accommodation services (0.21 percentage points), transport (0.18 percentage points), and housing and utilities (0.14 percentage points).

The NBS further reported that the average Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending June 2026 increased by 17.63 per cent, compared with 29.82 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, indicating a 12.18 percentage-point decline in average annual inflation.

A breakdown of inflation across locations showed that urban inflation stood at 16.08 per cent year-on-year in June, while monthly urban inflation rose to 2.13 per cent from 1.99 per cent in May. The 12-month average urban inflation rate declined to 17.51 per cent, from 31.64 per cent recorded a year earlier.

In rural areas, year-on-year inflation was 15.48 per cent, while monthly rural inflation slowed sharply to 0.52 per cent, down from 1.17 per cent in May. The 12-month average rural inflation rate stood at 17.54 per cent, compared with 27.65 per cent in June 2025.

Despite the moderation in headline inflation, food prices continued to rise at a faster pace. The food inflation rate increased to 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June, compared with 25.41 per cent in the same month last year.

On a monthly basis, food inflation accelerated to 3.75 per cent, up from 2.98 per cent in May. The NBS attributed the increase to rising prices of items including crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh tomatoes, dried green peas, yam flour, water yam, beef, banana, cassava flour, cowpea, garri, Irish potatoes and yam tubers.

The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending June 2026 stood at 16.42 per cent, representing a 15.51 percentage-point decline from 31.93 per cent recorded in June 2025.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.92 per cent year-on-year in June, compared with 25.41 per cent in June 2025. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation eased to 1.66 per cent from 1.94 per cent in May.

The 12-month average core inflation rate was 18.82 per cent, down from 26.88 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

Across states, Niger State recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation rate at 42.23 per cent, followed by Kogi (41.59 per cent) and the Federal Capital Territory (39.91 per cent). The slowest rise in headline inflation was recorded in Imo (19.47 per cent), Ebonyi (20.79 per cent) and Katsina (21.87 per cent).

On a month-on-month basis, Niger (11.65 per cent), Katsina (8.13 per cent) and Kwara (7.52 per cent) recorded the highest increases in headline inflation, while Bayelsa (-6.48 per cent), Benue (-5.58 per cent) and Cross River (-5.12 per cent) posted the slowest monthly price movements.

For food inflation, Kogi recorded the highest year-on-year rate at 53.02 per cent, followed by Niger (43.83 per cent) and Benue (40.83 per cent). The lowest food inflation rates were recorded in Katsina (19.15 per cent), Rivers (23.81 per cent) and Imo (24.60 per cent).

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Katsina (16.82 per cent), Kebbi (9.79 per cent) and Niger (8.96 per cent), while Borno (-3.54 per cent), Benue (-2.36 per cent) and Bayelsa (-1.34 per cent) recorded the slowest monthly food price increases.