Nigeria’s inflation eases to 15.39% in August, NBS says

Nigeria’s headline inflation eased slightly to 15.39 per cent in August 2026, down from 15.43 per cent in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau’s Consumer Price Index report showed that prices still rose during the month, but at a slower pace. Month-on-month inflation dropped to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.

Food inflation also slowed. Punch reported from the NBS data that food inflation stood at 19.57 per cent year-on-year, compared with 25.30 per cent in August 2025, while the monthly food inflation rate fell to 1.02 per cent from 5.56 per cent in July.

The report said food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to the inflation basket, followed by restaurants and accommodation services, transport, and housing-related costs.

Inflation pressure varied across the country. Punch reported that urban inflation was 15.88 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation stood at 14.23 per cent. Lagos recorded the highest headline inflation rate at 23.68 per cent, followed by Zamfara at 22.56 per cent.

Vanguard also reported the 15.39 per cent headline rate and the 0.04 percentage-point fall from July, citing the NBS August CPI release.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard