By Onu Okorie
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined marginally to 15.39 per cent in August 2026 from 15.43 per cent recorded in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index report for August 2026 released on Tuesday, showing that headline inflation fell by 0.04 percentage points during the month.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the prices of goods and services, rose to 146.3 points in August from 145.3 points in July, representing an increase of 1.0 point.
The latest inflation figure also represents a significant decline from the 23.14 per cent recorded in August 2025, indicating a substantial moderation in the annual pace of increase in consumer prices.
Month-on-month inflation drops
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed sharply to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.
The NBS said the decline indicated that the average price level increased at a slower pace in August than in the preceding month.
The bureau further reported that the average Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending August 2026 increased by 16.30 per cent compared with the average recorded during the preceding 12-month period.
This represented a decline of 12.02 percentage points from the 28.32 per cent recorded in August 2025.
Urban, rural inflation show mixed trends
The report showed that urban inflation stood at 15.88 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, while month-on-month urban inflation fell sharply to 0.28 per cent from 1.90 per cent in July.
The 12-month average urban inflation rate stood at 16.28 per cent in August, compared with 29.73 per cent recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
In rural areas, the year-on-year inflation rate stood at 14.23 per cent in August, lower than the urban rate.
However, rural month-on-month inflation rose to 1.79 per cent in August from 0.78 per cent in July, indicating a faster increase in average prices in rural areas during the month.
The 12-month average rural inflation rate was 16.02 per cent, down from 26.47 per cent recorded a year earlier.
Food inflation moderates
Food inflation also moderated significantly during the month, with the year-on-year rate falling to 19.57 per cent in August from 25.30 per cent recorded in August 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation dropped sharply to 1.02 per cent in August from 5.56 per cent in July.
According to the NBS, the moderation reflected changes in the prices of several food commodities, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam and melon.
Other commodities highlighted in the report included fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey meat.
Despite the moderation, the bureau noted that food prices continued to rise in August, although at a slower pace than in July.
The latest figures point to a broad-based slowdown in the pace of price increases during August, with both headline and food inflation recording significant month-on-month declines. However, the NBS data also showed that price pressures remained evident across different categories and locations.