Nigeria’s inflation eases marginally to 15.91% in June as food prices climb

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated 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 showed that while overall inflation edged lower, food inflation continued its upward trend, rising to 17.52 per cent in June from 16.96 per cent in the previous month.

According to the NBS, the marginal decline in headline inflation was largely driven by a reduction in core inflation, which fell to 15.92 per cent in June from 16.82 per cent in May.

The bureau noted that the June headline inflation figure was significantly lower than the 25.29 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

“On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in June 2026 was 1.66 per cent, lower than the 1.75 per cent recorded in May 2026,” the NBS stated.

“This indicates that the pace at which the general price level increased in June was slower than in the preceding month.”

Despite the slight moderation in overall inflation, food prices continued to rise, driven by increases in the cost of several 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.

The NBS reported that food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June, compared with 25.41 per cent in the same month last year.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation accelerated to 3.75 per cent in June from 2.98 per cent in May, representing an increase of 0.77 percentage points.

A breakdown of state-by-state figures showed that Kogi recorded the highest food inflation rate on a year-on-year basis at 53.02 per cent, followed by Niger at 43.83 per cent and Benue at 40.83 per cent.

In contrast, Katsina recorded the slowest annual increase in food prices at 19.15 per cent, while Rivers and Imo posted food inflation rates of 23.81 per cent and 24.60 per cent respectively.

On a monthly basis, Katsina experienced the sharpest increase in food prices at 16.82 per cent, followed by Kebbi at 9.79 per cent and Niger at 8.96 per cent.

Meanwhile, Borno, Benue and Bayelsa recorded declines in monthly food inflation, with rates of -3.54 per cent, -2.36 per cent and -1.34 per cent respectively.

The latest figures suggest that while overall inflationary pressures may be easing gradually, rising food costs continue to pose a challenge for households across the country.