Nigeria’s headline inflation rate edged down slightly to 15.10 per cent in January 2026, from 15.15 per cent in December 2025, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.
This decrease came despite analysts earlier predicting that Nigeria’s inflation could rise to 19 per cent in January.
The NBS report indicated that the Consumer Price Index dropped to 127.4 in January from 131.2 in December, marking a 3.8-point decline.
The bureau noted that the January headline inflation rate was 0.05 percentage points lower than December’s figure.
Year-on-year, the headline inflation rate stood at 15.10 per cent in January 2026, down 12.51 percentage points from 27.61 per cent in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation recorded negative 2.88 per cent in January, compared to 0.54 per cent in December, indicating an overall decline in average prices during the month.
The NBS report read, “The Consumer Price Index declined to 127.4 in January 2026, reflecting a 3.8-point decrease from the preceding month (131.2).”
It added, “In January 2026, the Headline inflation rate eased to 15.10 per cent, down from 15.15 per cent in December 2025. Looking at the movement, the January 2026 Headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.05 per cent compared to the December 2025 Headline inflation rate.”
The bureau highlighted that the percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending January 2026 over the previous twelve-month average was 21.97 per cent, representing a 4.37 percentage point increase from 17.59 per cent recorded in January 2025.
A breakdown revealed that urban inflation was 15.36 per cent year-on-year in January 2026, sharply lower than 29.45 per cent in January 2025.
Month-on-month, urban inflation fell by 2.72 per cent, compared to 0.99 per cent in December.
The corresponding twelve-month average for urban inflation stood at 22.30 per cent.
Rural inflation was recorded at 14.44 per cent year-on-year in January 2026, down from 25.04 per cent in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, rural inflation declined by 3.29 per cent, compared to negative 0.55 per cent in December.
The twelve-month average for rural inflation was 21.03 per cent.
Food inflation slowed significantly, standing at 8.89 per cent year-on-year in January 2026, 20.73 percentage points lower than the 29.63 per cent recorded in January 2025.
Month-on-month, food inflation fell by 6.02 per cent in January, compared to negative 0.36 per cent in December.
The NBS attributed the decline to reductions in prices of items such as water yam, eggs, green peas, groundnut oil, soya beans, palm oil, maize grains, guinea corn, beans, beef, and cassava.
The average annual food inflation for the twelve months ending January 2026 was 20.29 per cent, down from 38.47 per cent in January 2025.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy, stood at 17.72 per cent year-on-year in January 2026, compared to 25.27 per cent in January 2025.
Month-on-month, core inflation fell by 1.69 per cent, compared to 0.58 per cent in December.
The twelve-month average core inflation rate was 22.84 per cent, lower than 27.24 per cent in January 2025.
At the state level, Benue recorded the highest year-on-year all-items inflation at 22.48 per cent, followed by Kogi at 20.98 per cent and the Federal Capital Territory at 19.25 per cent.
Ebonyi, Katsina, and Imo recorded the lowest year-on-year headline inflation rates at 8.72 per cent, 8.94 per cent, and 10.61 per cent, respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, Imo and Ondo had the highest increases at 1.93 per cent and 1.932 per cent, while Cross River, Ogun, and Kogi saw the sharpest declines at negative 6.34 per cent, negative 6.30 per cent, and negative 6.03 per cent, respectively.
For food inflation, Kogi recorded the highest year-on-year rate at 19.84 per cent, followed by Benue at 18.38 per cent and Adamawa at 17.29 per cent, while Ebonyi, Abia, and Imo had the slowest rise in food prices.
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