Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 percent in May 2026 from 15.69 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, marking the third consecutive monthly increase following an extended period of disinflation and signaling that underlying price pressures remained entrenched despite a moderation in the month-on-month pace of price increases.
The month-on-month headline figure slowed to 1.75 percent in May from 2.13 percent in April, indicating that while prices continued to rise they did so at a somewhat reduced pace compared to the preceding period. The 12-month average headline inflation rate for the year ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 percent, a significant decline from 30.57 percent recorded over the corresponding period in 2025.
Food inflation, which drives the largest share of household spending, stood at 16.96 percent year-on-year in May, substantially below the 24.55 percent recorded in May 2025, but continued to exert pressure on the basket through changes in the prices of onions, maize, melon, water yam, cassava, crayfish, pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, yam, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain, and cowpea. Month-on-month food inflation moderated to 2.98 percent from 3.63 percent in April.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 16.82 percent year-on-year but accelerated on a monthly basis to 1.94 percent from 1.03 percent in April, suggesting emerging pressure from non-food components of the price basket. Urban inflation reached 16.07 percent year-on-year while rural inflation came in at 15.60 percent.
At state level, Yobe recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation at 24.94 percent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 percent and Sokoto at 22.60 percent, while Niger posted the lowest at 3.07 percent. Month-on-month, Benue recorded the steepest increase at 8.23 percent, ahead of Bayelsa at 7.62 percent and Borno at 7.29 percent.
