Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose slightly to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, marking the first uptick in three months, although underlying data suggest that the pace of price increases moderated across key sectors of the economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for May, released on Monday in Abuja.
According to the report, headline inflation increased by 0.24 percentage points from 15.69 per cent recorded in April.
However, on a month-on-month basis, inflation eased to 1.75 per cent from 2.13 per cent in April, indicating that consumer prices continued to rise but at a slower pace than in the previous month.
“This means that in May, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in April,” the bureau stated.
The latest reading remains significantly lower than the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025, reflecting the impact of the CPI rebasing exercise and a gradual moderation in inflationary pressures.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points, followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 2.06 percentage points and transport at 1.70 percentage points.
The least contributing divisions were recreation, sports and culture, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics, as well as insurance and financial services.
The Consumer Price Index rose to 140.7 points in May from 138.3 points in April, underscoring the continued increase in the general price level.
Food inflation, a major concern for households, stood at 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May, compared with 24.55 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
On a monthly basis, food inflation slowed to 2.98 per cent from 3.63 per cent in April, suggesting easing pressure in some agricultural commodity markets.
The NBS attributed food price movements to changes in the prices of fresh onions, maize, grains, melon, water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tubers, yams, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpea, among other staples.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 16.82 per cent year-on-year, down from 24.92 per cent in May 2025.
However, month-on-month core inflation accelerated to 1.94 per cent from 1.03 per cent in April, indicating that underlying price pressures in services and non-food categories remain elevated.
A breakdown of inflation sub-indices showed broad moderation across several sectors. Energy inflation slowed sharply to 0.72 per cent from 8.0 per cent in April, while farm produce inflation fell to 0.86 per cent from 6.0 per cent. Imported food inflation also moderated to 2.28 per cent from 4.4 per cent.
In contrast, services inflation rose to 2.48 per cent from 2.1 per cent, highlighting persistent cost pressures in the service economy.
Urban inflation stood at 16.07 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation was slightly lower at 15.60 per cent. On a monthly basis, urban inflation increased marginally to 1.99 per cent, whereas rural inflation eased significantly to 1.17 per cent.
State-level data revealed wide disparities in inflation trends across the country.
Yobe recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation rate at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent. Niger recorded the lowest rate at 3.07 per cent, ahead of Plateau at 7.10 per cent and Edo at 7.73 per cent.
For food inflation, Adamawa posted the highest year-on-year rate at 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara at 28.47 per cent and Rivers at 28.40 per cent.
The figures suggest that while inflation remains elevated, particularly in food and services, the slowing monthly pace of price increases points to a gradual easing of inflationary pressures across key segments of the economy.