Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 15.93 percent in May 2026, up from 15.69 percent recorded in April 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The increase marks the third consecutive month of rising annual inflation after the rate bottomed at 15.05 percent in February 2026, suggesting that price pressures remain persistent despite a significant decline from the 26.06 percent recorded in May 2025.
Data from the NBS showed that the Consumer Price Index rose to 140.7 points in May from 138.3 points in April, reflecting continued increases in the prices of goods and services across the economy.
Despite the increase in annual inflation, month-on-month inflation moderated to 1.75 percent in May, lower than the 2.13 percent recorded in April, indicating a slower pace of price increases compared to the previous month.
Food Inflation Remains Key Driver
Food inflation remained one of the strongest contributors to overall inflationary pressure.
According to the report, food inflation stood at 16.96 percent year-on-year in May 2026, compared to 24.55 percent in May 2025. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation eased to 2.98 percent from 3.63 percent recorded in April.
The NBS attributed the increase in food prices to the rising cost of key staples, including fresh onions, maize, melon (egusi), water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpea.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points of the annual inflation rate.
Core Inflation Accelerates Monthly
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 16.82 percent year-on-year in May 2026.
While annual core inflation remained significantly lower than the 24.92 percent recorded in May 2025, monthly core inflation accelerated to 1.94 percent from 1.03 percent in April, highlighting persistent price pressures in non-food segments of the economy.
The increase in core inflation suggests that inflationary pressures are becoming more broad-based beyond food prices.
Urban Inflation Outpaces Rural Inflation
Urban inflation rose to 16.07 percent year-on-year in May compared to 15.60 percent recorded in rural areas.
On a monthly basis, urban inflation accelerated to 1.99 percent while rural inflation slowed sharply to 1.17 percent, indicating that consumers in major cities continue to experience stronger price pressures than those in rural communities.
States with Highest Inflation
Among the states, Yobe recorded the highest headline inflation rate at 24.94 percent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 percent and Sokoto at 22.60 percent.
Conversely, Niger recorded the lowest annual inflation rate at 3.07 percent, followed by Plateau at 7.10 percent and Edo at 7.73 percent.
For food inflation, Adamawa posted the highest rate at 29.62 percent, while Kwara and Rivers recorded 28.47 percent and 28.40 percent respectively.
Implications for Monetary Policy
The latest inflation data presents a mixed picture for policymakers.
While inflation remains substantially lower than levels recorded a year ago and monthly headline inflation has moderated, the steady increase in annual inflation since February and the acceleration in core inflation could complicate expectations for monetary easing.
The data suggests that although the worst phase of Nigeria’s inflation crisis may have passed, underlying price pressures remain strong enough to keep the Central Bank of Nigeria cautious in its monetary policy decisions.
Investors and businesses will continue to monitor inflation trends closely as they assess the outlook for interest rates, consumer spending and economic growth in the second half of 2026.