Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.63 per cent in September 2026 from 15.39 per cent in August, as food prices declined on a month-on-month basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed that headline inflation declined by 6.35 percentage points from 20.98 per cent recorded in September 2025, reflecting a moderation in the annual rate of increase in consumer prices.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at 0.06 per cent in September, down from 0.71 per cent in August, indicating a slower increase in the average price level during the period.
The CPI, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services consumed by households, rose marginally to 146.38 points in September from 146.30 points in August.
Food inflation, one of the major components of the headline index, declined to 19.59 per cent year-on-year in September from 20.16 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation contracted by 1.55 per cent in September, compared with an increase of 1.02 per cent in August.
The NBS attributed the decline to changes in the average prices of selected food items, including local short-grain rice, maize flour, guinea corn flour, eggs, fresh onions, palm oil, green beans, Irish potatoes, okra, fresh tomatoes and plantain.
The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending September 2026 stood at 15.72 per cent, down from 28.37 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
However, core inflation, which excludes agricultural produce and energy prices, rose on a monthly basis despite easing annually.
Core inflation stood at 12.95 per cent year-on-year in September, compared with 22.11 per cent in September 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate rose to 1.11 per cent in September from a contraction of 0.06 per cent in August, indicating renewed price pressures across items outside the excluded categories.
The 12-month average core inflation rate was 16.54 per cent in September, down from 25.68 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
A breakdown of inflation by location showed that urban inflation stood at 15.64 per cent year-on-year in September, while rural inflation was 12.46 per cent.
On a monthly basis, urban inflation increased to 0.53 per cent from 0.28 per cent in August. In contrast, rural inflation contracted by 0.89 per cent in September, following an increase of 1.79 per cent in the preceding month.
The 12-month average headline inflation rate stood at 15.80 per cent in September, compared with 27.31 per cent recorded in September 2025.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to year-on-year headline inflation, accounting for 5.85 percentage points of the overall rate. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 1.89 percentage points, while transport contributed 1.56 percentage points.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.23 percentage points, while education services accounted for 0.91 percentage points.
