Nigeria’s inflation slows marginally to 15.91% in June as food prices continue to rise

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.91 per cent in June 2026, down from 15.93 per cent recorded in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report, published on Wednesday, showed that while overall inflation moderated marginally, food inflation continued to climb, rising to 17.52 per cent in June from 16.96 per cent in May.

According to the NBS, the slight decline in headline inflation was driven mainly by a drop in core inflation, which fell to 15.92 per cent in June from 16.82 per cent in the previous month.

The Bureau, however, noted that food prices continued to rise due to increases in the average cost of staple items, including crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, dried green peas, yam flour, water yam, beef, bananas, cassava flour, cowpeas, garri, Irish potatoes and yam tubers.

“In June 2026, the headline inflation rate was 15.91 per cent, down from 15.93 per cent in May 2026, and stood at 25.29 per cent in the same month of the preceding year (June 2025),” the report stated.

It added that on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at 1.66 per cent in June, compared with 1.75 per cent in May, indicating a slower pace of increase in the average price level.

On food inflation, the NBS reported that the year-on-year food inflation rate rose to 17.52 per cent, compared with 25.41 per cent recorded in June 2025.

Month-on-month food inflation increased to 3.75 per cent in June from 2.98 per cent in May, representing a 0.77 percentage-point increase.

State-by-state data showed that Kogi (53.02%), Niger (43.83%) and Benue (40.83%) recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation rates.

In contrast, Katsina (19.15%), Rivers (23.81%) and Imo (24.60%) posted the slowest annual increases in food prices.

On a month-on-month basis, Katsina (16.82%), Kebbi (9.79%) and Niger (8.96%) experienced the sharpest increases in food inflation, while Borno (-3.54%), Benue (-2.36%) and Bayelsa (-1.34%) recorded the lowest monthly food inflation rates.