Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell to 14.63 per cent in September 2026 from 15.39 per cent in August, although rising energy costs continued to put pressure on households and businesses.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index report released on Thursday, 15 October, showing a 0.76 percentage-point decline in annual inflation.
The September figure was also 6.35 percentage points lower than the 20.98 per cent recorded in September 2025, indicating a slowdown in the rate of increase in consumer prices over the past year.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation dropped to 0.06 per cent in September from 0.71 per cent in August, representing a decline of 0.65 percentage points.
“This means that in September 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate recorded in August 2026,” the bureau stated.
The decline suggests that average prices rose more slowly in September than in the preceding month. However, it does not mean that the general cost of living has returned to previous levels.
Food inflation stood at 19.59 per cent year-on-year in September, down from 20.16 per cent in the corresponding month of 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation fell to -1.55 per cent in September from 1.02 per cent in August, indicating that average food prices declined during the month.
The NBS attributed the movement to price changes in items including local rice, eggs, onions, palm oil, potatoes, tomatoes and other food products.
However, the moderation in headline inflation came alongside a sharp increase in energy costs.
According to the September inflation report, month-on-month energy inflation rose to 5.38 per cent from 0.36 per cent in August, while year-on-year energy inflation increased to 10.85 per cent from 4.69 per cent.
The figures highlight the contrasting movements in consumer prices, with falling food prices helping to moderate overall inflation while energy costs continued to rise.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise has also warned that rising energy costs could undermine the recent slowdown in inflation, citing their potential impact on production and distribution costs.
For Nigerian households, the latest figures present a mixed picture. Although the monthly decline in food prices offers some relief, annual food inflation remains high, meaning food prices are still considerably higher than they were a year earlier.
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