Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly increase as rising food costs and sustained pressure across key sectors continued to weigh on household spending.
The latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that inflation rose from 15.69 per cent in April to 15.93 per cent in May, extending the upward trend that began in March after easing to 15.06 per cent in February.
The report also indicated that the Consumer Price Index increased to 140.7 in May from 138.3 recorded in April, representing a 2.4-point rise in the general price level.
Providing further insight into the movement, the NBS said, “In May 2026, the Headline inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 1.75 per cent, which was 0.39 per cent lower than the rate recorded in April 2026 (2.13 per cent). This means that in May 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in April 2026.”
Despite the moderation in monthly inflation, annual inflation continued its upward climb, moving from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April before reaching 15.93 per cent in May.
The bureau stated, “On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent, up from 15.69 per cent in April 2026 and down from 26.06 per cent in the same month of the preceding year (May 2025). Looking at the movement, the May 2026 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24 per cent compared to the April 2026 Headline inflation rate.”
Although the latest figure remains significantly below the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025, it signals persistent inflationary pressure in the economy.
An analysis of the inflation basket showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, while transport accounted for 1.70 percentage points.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.34 percentage points, while education services, health, and clothing and footwear accounted for 0.99, 0.97 and 0.80 percentage points respectively.
The report further showed that average inflation for the 12 months ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 per cent, compared to 30.57 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
Food inflation remained one of the strongest drivers of the overall increase, with the NBS reporting a year-on-year rate of 16.96 per cent in May, compared with 24.55 per cent in the same period last year. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation slowed to 2.98 per cent from 3.63 per cent in April.
According to the bureau, the rise in food prices was driven by the increasing cost of staple commodities such as onions, maize grains, melon, water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tubers, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpea.
The report added, “The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending May 2026 over the previous twelve-month average was 16.99 per cent, which was 16.22 percentage points lower compared with the average annual rate of change recorded in May 2025 (33.21 per cent).”
Core inflation, which excludes farm produce and energy, stood at 16.82 per cent year-on-year, compared with 24.92 per cent in May 2025. On a monthly basis, however, core inflation accelerated sharply to 1.94 per cent from 1.03 per cent in April.
The report also showed that urban inflation stood at 16.07 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation came in at 15.60 per cent during the same period.
At the state level, Yobe recorded the highest annual headline inflation at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent. In contrast, Niger recorded the lowest at 3.07 per cent, followed by Plateau at 7.10 per cent and Edo at 7.73 per cent.
On food inflation, Adamawa posted the highest annual rate at 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara at 28.47 per cent and Rivers at 28.40 per cent, while Borno recorded food deflation of 6.53 per cent.
The latest data suggests that while inflationary pressures have eased significantly compared to a year ago, consumer prices remain elevated, with food, services and core components continuing to shape the broader inflation outlook amid economic uncertainties and insecurity concerns.
ENDS.
(The Whistler)
