Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest figure represents a slight decline of 0.02 percentage points from the 15.93 per cent recorded in May 2026. On a year-on-year basis, inflation also dropped significantly compared to the 25.29 per cent recorded in June 2025.
The NBS further reported that month-on-month headline inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent in June, down from 1.75 per cent in May, indicating a slower pace of price increases between the two months.
According to the report, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, while transport added 1.70 percentage points.
The least contributing sectors included recreation, sports and culture (0.05 percentage points), alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (0.06 percentage points), and insurance and financial services (0.07 percentage points).
Despite the slight improvement in the overall inflation rate, household spending on food, transport, restaurants and accommodation continued to drive consumer prices upward.
The NBS also stated that food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June 2026, a significant drop from 25.41 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.
However, food inflation increased on a monthly basis, rising to 3.75 per cent in June from 2.98 per cent in May. The bureau attributed the increase to higher prices of several food 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 report also showed that core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.92 per cent year-on-year in June 2026, down sharply from 25.41 per cent recorded in June 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation fell to 1.66 per cent from 1.94 per cent in May, reflecting a decline of 0.28 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the NBS disclosed that the 12-month average Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 18.82 per cent in the year ending June 2026, compared to the average of the previous 12-month period. This was 8.05 percentage points lower than the 26.88 per cent recorded in June 2025.
While the latest figures point to a continued slowdown in annual inflation, the rise in month-on-month food inflation suggests many Nigerian households are still grappling with the high cost of essential food items.