…….Headline inflation eased from 15.43% in July, while monthly inflation dropped significantly to 0.71%.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined marginally to 15.39% in August 2026 from 15.43% in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest figure represents a 0.04 percentage-point decrease. The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index report released on September 15, 2026.
Monthly Inflation Slows
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation fell to 0.71% in August from 1.57% in July.
The NBS explained that the decline means the average prices of goods and services continued to increase, but at a slower rate than in the previous month.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services, increased from 145.3 points in July to 146.3 points in August.
Food Inflation Drops to 19.57%
Food inflation stood at 19.57% year-on-year in August, compared with 20.31% in July.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation declined sharply to 1.02% from 5.56% in July.
The NBS attributed the development to changes in the prices of commodities, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, fresh fish, potatoes, frozen chicken and turkey.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.16 percentage points.
Other major contributors included:
- Restaurants and accommodation services: 1.99 percentage points.
- Transport: 1.64 percentage points.
- Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: 1.30 percentage points.
- Education services: 0.95 percentage points.
- Health: 0.93 percentage points.
Urban and Rural Inflation
Urban inflation stood at 15.88% year-on-year in August, while rural inflation was recorded at 14.23%.
Urban month-on-month inflation declined to 0.28% from 1.90% in July.
However, rural month-on-month inflation increased to 1.79% in August from 0.78% in July.
The figures indicate that price movements differed between urban and rural areas during the reporting period.
Core Inflation Also Declines
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, fell to 13.29% year-on-year in August.
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation stood at -0.06%, compared with 0.15% in July.
Despite the decline in the inflation rate, the increase in the Consumer Price Index shows that prices continued to rise, although at a slower pace.
