The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that Nigeria's overall inflation rate fell to 15.43 percent in July. This marks a continued decrease in price pressures, even though food inflation rose during the same month.
The headline rate, measured year-on-year, dropped from 15.91 percent in June. It is also much lower than the 24.94 percent recorded in July 2025.
The NBS shared these figures in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Monday.
On a month-to-month basis, the headline inflation also fell to 1.57 percent in July, down from 1.66 percent in June. This shows that prices are rising, but at a slower pace.
In July, the inflation rate went down from 15.93 percent in May, which was when it reached its highest level in the last three months before dropping to 15.91 percent in June.
PREMIUM TIMES noted in July that the overall inflation rate eased slightly to 15.91 percent in June from 15.93 percent in May, despite food prices continuing to pressure families.
Food Inflation Goes Up
Food inflation rose to 20.31 percent year-on-year in July. This is higher than the 17.52 percent noted in June.
However, the July figure is still below the 26.20 percent recorded in July 2025.
On a month-to-month basis, food inflation jumped to 5.56 percent in July from 3.75 percent in June. This means food prices increased much faster in July compared to the previous month, even with the overall inflation easing.
The difference between the overall inflation rate and food inflation shows that households are still facing financial pressure, especially for those whose spending focuses on food and other basic needs.
Core inflation, which does not include farm products and energy, fell to 14.97 percent year-on-year in July from 15.92 percent in June.
It was also lower than the 23.95 percent recorded in July 2025. On a month-to-month basis, core inflation dropped sharply to 0.15 percent in July from 1.66 percent in June.
This suggests that price pressures outside of farm products and energy eased significantly during July.
Urban and Rural Inflation
The NBS data also revealed differences in inflation rates between urban and rural areas.
Urban inflation stood at 16.12 percent year-on-year in July, compared to 25.26 percent in July 2025. Month-on-month, urban inflation was 1.90 percent, down from 2.13 percent in June.
In rural areas, inflation was 13.77 percent year-on-year in July, lower than the 23.95 percent noted in July 2025. However, rural month-to-month inflation increased to 0.78 percent from 0.52 percent in June.
These figures show that while annual inflation is higher in urban areas, the monthly price changes were less noticeable in rural areas compared to cities.
Inflation Trends
The NBS’s year-on-year inflation series shows a sharp decline from 24.94 percent in July 2025 to 15.43 percent in July 2026.
The rate fell steadily from 24.94 percent in July 2025 to 23.14 percent in August, 20.98 percent in September, 18.97 percent in October, and 17.33 percent in November.
It then dropped to 15.15 percent in December 2025, then recorded 15.10 percent in January 2026 and 15.06 percent in February.
Inflation began to rise again, reaching 15.38 percent in March, 15.69 percent in April, 15.93 percent in May, and 15.91 percent in June.
The drop to 15.43 percent in July shows a return to earlier declines after the increases from March to May. But the sharp rise in monthly food inflation indicates that the easing in the overall inflation does not mean that all household expenses are feeling the relief.
The NBS’s CPI framework tracks various inflation types, including overall, food, core, urban, and rural inflation, after updating the consumer price index.
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