Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined marginally to 15.91 per cent in June 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
The figure represented a slight decrease of 0.02 percentage points from the 15.93 per cent recorded in May.
The NBS also said the June 2026 inflation rate was substantially lower than the 25.29 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, the bureau said headline inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent in June, compared with 1.75 per cent in May.
“The month-on-month headline inflation rate in June 2026 was 1.66 per cent, which was 0.09 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in May 2026 at 1.75 per cent,” the report stated.
The month-on-month figure measures the rate at which the general price level changed between May and June 2026.
At the divisional level, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.37 percentage points.
Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, while transport accounted for 1.70 percentage points.
The divisions with the lowest contributions were recreation, sport and culture at 0.05 percentage points; alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics at 0.06 percentage points; and insurance and financial services at 0.07 percentage points.
The figures showed that household spending on food, transportation, restaurants and accommodation continued to exert significant pressure on consumer prices despite the marginal decline in overall inflation.
The NBS said food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis in June 2026.
Naijaonpoint understands that this was lower than the 25.41 per cent recorded in June 2025.
However, food inflation increased on a month-on-month basis, rising to 3.75 per cent in June from 2.98 per cent in May.
“Also, on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in June 2026 was 3.75 per cent, up by 0.77 percentage points from May 2026 at 2.98 per cent,” the report added.
The bureau attributed the monthly increase in food inflation to changes in the average prices of several agricultural and household food products.
These included crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh tomatoes, dried green peas, yam flour sold loose, water yam, beef, bananas, cassava flour, cowpeas, garri, Irish potatoes and yam tubers.
The increase indicated that consumers continued to face higher prices for several staple foods, even as the annual food inflation rate slowed considerably compared with the previous year.
The NBS said core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.92 per cent in June 2026 on a year-on-year basis.
This represented a decline of 9.49 percentage points compared with the 25.41 per cent recorded in June 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation fell to 1.66 per cent in June from 1.94 per cent in May, representing a decrease of 0.28 percentage points.
“On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 1.66 per cent in June 2026, down by 0.28 percentage points compared to May 2026 at 1.94 per cent,” the bureau stated.
Core inflation is closely monitored because it reflects underlying price pressures after excluding items whose prices are prone to sudden fluctuations.
The NBS also disclosed that the average Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending June 2026 increased by 18.82 per cent compared with the average recorded in the preceding 12-month period.
The figure was 8.05 percentage points lower than the 26.88 per cent recorded in June 2025.
“The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending June 2026 over the average for the previous twelve-month period was 18.82 per cent, which was 8.05 percentage points lower than the 26.88 per cent recorded in June 2025,” the report said.
