By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday disclosed that headline inflation has eased to 15.39 percent in August, 2026.
The NBS in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for August 2026 said the development followed the completion of the recent rebasing exercise which centred on a new CPI base year of 2024 and a weight reference period of 2023.
It noted that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 146.3 in August 2026 and reflects a 1.0-point increase from the preceding month.
Prince Adeyemi Adeniran , Statistician General of the Federation said in statement that the month-on-month headline inflation rate in August 2026 was 0.71%, which was 0.86% lower than the rate recorded in July 2026 (1.57%).
This shows that the average prices of items are increasing at a decreasing rate in August 2026.
The latest report notes that the three major contributors to the headline inflation were Food and non-alcoholic Beverages: 6.16%, Restaurants & Accommodation Services: 1.99%, and Transport: 1.64%; while the least contributors were Recreation, Sport, and Culture: 0.05%, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics: 0.06%, and Insurance and Financial Services: 0.07%.
The report further said the Food inflation rate in August 2026 was 19.57% on a year-on-year basis, lower than 25.30% recorded in August 2025. Also, on a month-on-month basis, the Food Inflation rate in August 2026 was 1.02%, down by 4.55% points from July 2026 (5.56%). This shows that the average prices of food items are increasing at a decreasing rate in August 2026. The decline in the rate can be attributed mainly to changes in the average prices of Palm Oil, Carrots, Pepper, Onions, Cassava Flour, Beef, Yam Flour, Water Yam, Melon (Egusi), Fresh Ginger Fresh Fish, Irish Potatoes, Wheat Grain, Frozen Chicken, Turkey Meat, Yam Flour, among others.
Core Inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 13.29% in August 2026 on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was -0.06% in August 2026, down by 0.21% compared to July 2026 (0.15%).
The inflation rate of the sub-indices for August 2026 shows that the monthly change recorded were Farm Produce (1.35%), Energy (-0.36%), Services (0.12%), Goods (0.45%) and Imported Food (0.91%).
Meanwhile, the inflation rate on a year-on-year basis recorded were as follows; Farm Produce (21.52%), Energy (4.69%), Services (15.38%), Goods (14.74%) and Imported Food (12.82%).
Urban and Rural Inflation Rates:
On a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate in August 2026 was 15.88%. On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 0.28% in August 2026, down by 1.62% compared to July 2026 (1.90%).
The rural inflation rate in August 2026 was 14.23% on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in August 2026 was 1.79%, up by 1.01% compared to July 2026 (0.78%).
In analysing price movements under this section, the statement noted that CPI is weighted by consumption expenditure patterns that differ across States and locations. Accordingly, the weight assigned to a particular Food or Non-Food item may differ from State to State making interstate comparisons of consumption basket inadvisable and potentially misleading.
In August 2026, the All-Items inflation rate on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Lagos (23.68%), Zamfara (22.56%), and Enugu (22.06%), while Sokoto (2.11%), Kebbi (3.72%) and Jigawa (3.81%) recorded the lowest rise in Headline inflation on a Year-on-Year basis. On a Month-on-Month basis, however, August 2026 recorded the highest increases in Rivers (6.92%), Osun (5.61%) and Kano (5.59%), while Anambra (-8.83%), Bauchi (-7.13%), and Borno (-7.09%) recorded the lowest rise in the Month-on-Month inflation.
In August 2026, Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Adamawa (38.85%), Zamfara (37.96%), and Bayelsa (36.20%), while Borno (-4.04%), Jigawa (-0.23%) and Kebbi (3.47%) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis. On a Month-on-Month basis, however, August 2026 Food inflation was highest in Katsina (9.48%), Rivers (8.86%) and Osun (8.32%), while Taraba (-12.42%), Borno (-12.15%), and Bauchi (-8.88%) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis.
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