Key Takeaways
- Nigeria's headline inflation eased to 15.43 percent in July, down from 15.91 percent in June.
- Month-on-month inflation slowed to 1.57 percent, a 0.09 percentage point fall from June.
- Year-on-year food inflation dropped to 20.31 percent, but monthly food inflation rose by 1.82 percentage points to 5.56 percent.
- Core inflation declined by 8.98 percentage points on a yearly basis to 14.97 percent.
Headline Inflation Slows
Nigeria's headline inflation rate dropped to 15.43 percent in July, according to the Consumer Price Index and Inflation Report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday in Abuja.
The latest figure represents a decrease of 0.48 percentage points from June's 15.91 percent. On a month-on-month basis, inflation stood at 1.57 percent, 0.09 percentage points lower than June's 1.66 percent, showing that the pace of average price increases slowed during the month.
On a year-on-year basis, July's headline rate of 15.43 percent compares with 24.94 percent in July 2025. Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 6.18 percentage points to the annual figure, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 1.99 percentage points and transport at 1.64 percentage points.
The smallest annual contributors were recreation, sports, 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 Consumer Price Index rose to 145.3 points in July from 143.0 in June.
Food Prices Remain Stubborn
Year-on-year food inflation stood at 20.31 percent in July, down from 26.20 percent a year earlier. On a month-on-month basis, however, food inflation climbed to 5.56 percent, a 1.82 percentage point increase from June's 3.75 percent.
The NBS linked the monthly rise to higher average prices for crayfish, fresh pepper, onions, carrots, rice, water yam, fresh tomatoes, garri, plantain, beef, eggs, guinea corn, ginger, and plantain flour.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile farm produce and energy prices, fell to 14.97 percent year-on-year in July from 23.95 percent in July 2025. On a month-on-month basis, core inflation slowed to 0.15 percent from 1.66 percent in June.
Urban and Rural Trends
Urban inflation stood at 16.12 percent year-on-year, while the monthly urban rate was 1.90 percent, down from 2.13 percent in June. Rural inflation reached 13.77 percent year-on-year, with a monthly rate of 0.78 percent, up from 0.52 percent.
Among sub-indices, energy inflation was minus 2.39 percent month-on-month, an improvement from minus 7.54 percent in June. Farm produce rose 4.66 percent, services gained 0.49 percent, goods rose 1.70 percent, and imported food increased 1.19 percent.
State-by-State Breakdown
Adamawa posted the highest year-on-year all-items inflation at 33.03 percent, followed by Yobe at 25.21 percent and Anambra at 23.99 percent. Nasarawa recorded the lowest at 7.86 percent, while Kebbi and Borno both stood at 9.12 percent.
Month-on-month, Adamawa led again at 12.48 percent, followed by Anambra at 9.95 percent and Delta at 9.54 percent. Niger, Enugu, and Kebbi recorded monthly declines of 5.86 percent, 5.71 percent, and 4.89 percent, respectively.
For food, Adamawa had the highest year-on-year rate at 51.36 percent, followed by Katsina at 30.84 percent and Zamfara at 30.65 percent. Borno recorded a negative annual rate of 0.31 percent, while Nasarawa and Kebbi saw slower increases of 6.88 percent and 12.50 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Adamawa at 17.02 percent, Lagos at 13.48 percent, and Borno at 13.26 percent. Jigawa, Kebbi, and Bauchi recorded declines of 3.68 percent, 3.67 percent, and 1.85 percent, respectively.
Why This Matters
Nigeria's falling headline inflation signals a gradual easing in consumer prices, but the monthly surge in food costs highlights the lingering vulnerability of household budgets.
Policymakers and investors will be watching whether disinflation can hold despite these persistent food price pressures and sharp regional differences.