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 marginal decline was driven mainly by a slowdown in core inflation, which fell to 15.92 per cent in June from 16.82 per cent in May, reflecting lower price increases outside food and energy-related items.
Despite the moderation in the overall inflation rate, food inflation continued to rise, increasing to 17.52 per cent in June from 16.96 per cent in the previous month.
The NBS attributed the increase to higher prices of staple food items, including crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh tomatoes, dried green peas, yam flour, water yam, beef, bananas, cassava flour, cowpeas, garri, Irish potatoes and yam tubers.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent in June from 1.75 per cent in May, indicating a slower pace of price increases during the month.
Meanwhile, food inflation rose sharply on a month-on-month basis to 3.75 per cent, compared with 2.98 per cent in May, reflecting continued pressure on household food costs.
The NBS also disclosed that Kogi, Niger and Benue states recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation rates in June at 53.02 per cent, 43.83 per cent and 40.83 per cent, respectively.
In contrast, Katsina, Rivers and Imo recorded the slowest year-on-year increases in food inflation at 19.15 per cent, 23.81 per cent and 24.60 per cent, respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, Katsina recorded the highest food inflation rate at 16.82 per cent, followed by Kebbi (9.79 per cent) and Niger (8.96 per cent).
Borno (-3.54 per cent), Benue (-2.36 per cent) and Bayelsa (-1.34 per cent) recorded the slowest month-on-month food inflation, indicating declines in food prices during the period.
