Inflation Moderates to 15.43% Despite Surge in Food Prices
• Severe in Adamawa, Yobe, Anambra, others
James Emejo and Deborah Adekoya in Abuja
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, moderated further to 15.43 per cent in July, compared with 15.91 per cent in June, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.
The decline represents a 0.48 per cent drop in headline inflation, extending the moderation recorded in the previous month and signalling a continued easing in the overall pace of price increases.
According to the CPI report for July 2026, month-on-month headline inflation also slowed to 1.57 per cent, from 1.66 per cent in June, indicating that the average price level continued to rise but at a slower pace during the review period.
According to the statistical agency, the CPI index rose to 145.3 points in July, from 143.0 points in June, reflecting a 2.2-point increase in the general price level.
Average annual headline inflation for the 12 months ending July 2026 stood at 16.89 per cent, representing a sharp decline from 29.10 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Food inflation, however, remained a major source of pressure, rising sharply on a month-on-month basis to 5.56 per cent in July from 3.75 per cent in June.
Year-on-year basis, food inflation stood at 20.31 per cent in July, although it remained significantly lower than the 26.20 per cent recorded in July 2025.
NBS attributed the month-on-month movement in food prices to increases in the average prices of crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh onions, carrots, rice, water yam, fresh tomatoes, garri, plantain, beef, eggs, guinea corn, ginger and plantain flour, among others.
The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending July 2026 stood at 16.06 per cent, compared to 30.85 per cent recorded in July 2025.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 14.97 per cent year-on-year in July, compared to 23.95 per cent in the corresponding month of last year.
Month-on-month, however, core inflation moderated sharply to 0.15 per cent from 1.66 per cent in June, pointing to weaker underlying price pressures outside volatile food and energy components.
The average 12-month core inflation rate stood at 18.09 per cent, lower than the 26.56 per cent recorded in July 2025.
Urban inflation stood at 16.12 per cent year-on-year in July, while month-on-month urban inflation moderated to 1.90 per cent from 2.13 per cent in June.
The average annual urban inflation rate for the 12 months ending July 2026 was 16.81 per cent, compared with 30.74 per cent recorded a year earlier.
Similarly, rural inflation stood at 13.77 per cent year-on-year in July, while month-on-month rural inflation rose to 0.78 per cent from 0.52 per cent recorded in June.
The average annual rural inflation rate for the 12-month period ended July 2026 was 16.72 per cent, lower than the 27.05 per cent reported in July 2025.
At the state level, year-on-year headline inflation was highest in Adamawa at 33.03 per cent, followed by Yobe 25.21 per cent and Anambra 23.99 per cent.
However, Nasarawa recorded the lowest headline inflation rate at 7.86 per cent, followed by Kebbi and Borno at 9.12 per cent each.
Month-on-month, the highest increases in headline inflation were recorded in Adamawa at 12.48 per cent, Anambra 9.95 per cent, and Delta 9.54 per cent, while Niger recorded the sharpest decline at -5.86 per cent, followed by Enugu at -5.71 per cent and Kebbi at -4.89 per cent.
Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Adamawa at 51.36 per cent, followed by Katsina 30.84 per cent, and Zamfara 30.65 per cent.
Borno recorded the slowest movement in food prices at -0.31 per cent, followed by Nasarawa at 6.88 per cent, and Kebbi at 12.50 per cent.
Month-on-month food inflation was highest in Adamawa at 17.02 per cent, followed by Lagos at 13.48 per cent and Borno at 13.26 per cent.
However, Jigawa recorded the sharpest decline in food prices at -3.68 per cent, followed by Kebbi at -3.67 per cent and Bauchi -1.85 per cent.