By OKEOGHENE AKUBUIKE

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped slightly to 15.91 per cent in June 2026, from 15.93 per cent in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS said this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for June 2026 released in Abuja on Wednesday.

The report said that on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation stood at 1.66 per cent in June, down from 1.75 per cent recorded in May, indicating a slower pace in the rise of average prices.

On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate was 15.91 per cent, compared with 25.29 per cent recorded in June 2025.

According to the report, the major contributors to headline inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages (6.37 per cent), restaurants and accommodation services (2.06 per cent), and transport (1.70 per cent).

The Consumer Price Index rose to 143.0 points in June from 140.7 points in May.

Food inflation stood at 17.52 per cent year-on-year in June, lower than the 25.41 per cent recorded in June 2025.

However, on a month-on-month basis, food inflation increased to 3.75 per cent from 2.98 per cent in May, driven by higher prices of items including crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, yam flour, beef, garri and potatoes.

The report also showed that core inflation, which excluded volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 15.92 per cent year-on-year in June, compared with 25.41 per cent in June 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, core inflation slowed to 1.66 per cent from 1.94 per cent recorded in May.

The NBS said urban inflation stood at 16.08 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation was 15.48 per cent.

On state-by-state analysis, Niger recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation rate at 42.23 per cent, followed by Kogi (41.59 per cent) and the FCT (39.91 per cent).

The lowest year-on-year inflation rates were recorded in Imo (19.74 per cent), Ebonyi (20.79 per cent) and Katsina (21.87 per cent).

For food inflation, Kogi recorded the highest year-on-year rate at 53.02 per cent, followed by Niger at 43.83 per cent and Benue at 40.83 per cent.

Katsina recorded the slowest rise at 19.15 per cent, followed by Rivers at 23.81 per cent and Imo at 24.60 per cent. (NAN)

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