From Victor Osula Abuja
Nigeria’s headline inflation eased to 20.12% in August 2025, from 21.88% recorded in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
According to the Bureau, the August 2025 Headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.76% compared to the July 2025 Headline inflation rate and a sharp fall from the 32.15% recorded in August 2024.
“The Consumer Price Index rose to 126.8 in August 2025, reflecting a 0.9-point increase from the preceding month (125.9). In August 2025, the Headline inflation rate eased to 20.12 percent relative to the July 2025 headline inflation rate of 21.88 percent.
“Looking at the movement, the August 2025 Headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.76 percent compared to the July 2025 Headline inflation rate”, it said.
Also, Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the average change in prices of goods and services, inched up to 126.8 points in August from 125.9 points in July. Month-on-month inflation stood at 0.74% lower than 1.99% in July, pointing to slower price increases across the country.
While Urban inflation eased to 19.75% year-on-year in August from 34.58% a year earlier, rural inflation was slightly higher at 20.28% compared with 29.95% in August 2024. On a monthly basis, inflation in urban areas slowed to 0.49% from 1.86% in July, while rural inflation came in at 1.38 %, down from 2.30%.
Food inflation, which remains the strongest driver of Nigeria’s inflation basket, declined to 21.87% year-on-year from 37.52% in August 2024. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation slowed to 1.65%, compared with 3.12% in July.
The moderation was linked to falling prices of staples including rice, guinea corn flour, maize flour, millet, semolina, and soya milk.
The twelve-month average for food inflation stood at 25.75% lower than the 36.99% recorded a year earlier.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy, was recorded at 20.33% year-on-year in August, down from 27.58% in August 2024. However, the index rose on a monthly basis to 1.43% from 0.97% in July, reflecting pressures from categories such as housing, water, electricity, gas, transportation, education, and healthcare.
Across the states, inflation trends remained mixed. Ekiti recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation at 28.17%, followed by Kano at 27.27% and Oyo at 26.58%, while Zamfara at 11.82%, Anambra at 14.16%, and Enugu at 14.20% recorded the lowest.
Food inflation was highest in Borno at 36.67%, Kano at 30.44%, and Akwa Ibom at 29.85 %, while Zamfara at 3.30%, Yobe at 3.60% and Sokoto at 6.34% recorded the lowest.
