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Inflation eases to 15.10% in January, down from 15.15% in December — National Bureau of Statistics
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Food prices decline sharply, driving slowdown in headline inflation
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Benue, Kogi, FCT record highest inflation rates as Ebonyi, Katsina, Imo post lowest
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.10 per cent in January 2026, down from 15.15 per cent recorded in December 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Monday showed the marginal 0.05 percentage point drop, defying earlier projections that inflation could climb as high as 19 per cent.
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The bureau said the CPI fell to 127.4 in January from 131.2 in December, representing a 3.8-point decrease.
“In January 2026, the Headline inflation rate eased to 15.10 per cent, down from 15.15 per cent in December 2025,” the NBS stated.
On a year-on-year basis, inflation was 12.51 percentage points lower than the 27.61 per cent recorded in January 2025.
Month-on-month, inflation dropped to negative 2.88 per cent compared to 0.54 per cent in December, indicating a general decline in average prices.
The report added that the 12-month average CPI for the period ending January 2026 stood at 21.97 per cent. This represents a 4.37 percentage point increase from 17.59 per cent recorded in January 2025.
Urban inflation stood at 15.36 per cent year-on-year, down from 29.45 per cent in January 2025. Rural inflation was 14.44 per cent, compared to 25.04 per cent a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation declined by 2.72 per cent, while rural inflation fell by 3.29 per cent.
Food inflation recorded a sharp moderation, dropping to 8.89 per cent year-on-year from 29.63 per cent in January 2025.
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Month-on-month, food inflation fell by 6.02 per cent, compared to negative 0.36 per cent recorded in December.
The NBS attributed the decline to lower prices of items including water yam, eggs, green peas, groundnut oil, soya beans, palm oil, maize grains, guinea corn, beans, beef and cassava.
The 12-month average food inflation rate stood at 20.29 per cent, significantly lower than 38.47 per cent recorded in January 2025.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 17.72 per cent year-on-year, down from 25.27 per cent in January 2025.
Month-on-month, core inflation declined by 1.69 per cent from 0.58 per cent in December.
At the state level, Benue recorded the highest year-on-year all-items inflation rate at 22.48 per cent.
Kogi followed at 20.98 per cent, while the Federal Capital Territory posted 19.25 per cent.
Ebonyi recorded the lowest rate at 8.72 per cent. Katsina stood at 8.94 per cent, while Imo posted 10.61 per cent.