Inflation Eases Slightly To 15.06% In February – NBS

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, down from 15.10 per cent recorded in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The marginal decline of 0.04 percentage points indicates a modest moderation in the pace of price increases across the economy, although inflationary pressures remain elevated on a monthly basis.

The statistics office noted that on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in February 2026 was 11.21 percentage points lower than the 26.27 per cent recorded in February 2025, suggesting that price pressures have eased considerably compared with the same period last year.

However, the report showed that inflation accelerated on a month-on-month basis, reflecting renewed price increases in February. The month-on-month headline inflation rate rose to 2.01 per cent, compared with -2.88 per cent recorded in January, representing an increase of 4.89 percentage points.

This indicates that while inflation has moderated on an annual basis, consumer prices rose faster in February than in the previous month, pointing to persistent cost pressures in certain segments of the economy.

The data further showed that the average Consumer Price Index for the 12 months ending February 2026 increased by 21.03 per cent, which represents a 3.02 percentage point rise compared with 18.01 per cent recorded in February 2025.
A breakdown of the inflation data revealed differences in price movements between urban and rural areas.

In urban centres, the inflation rate stood at 15.53 per cent year-on-year in February 2026, significantly lower than the 28.49 per cent recorded in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation increased to 2.55 per cent, compared with -2.72 per cent in January.

The twelve-month average urban inflation rate also rose to 21.25 per cent, up from 19.44 per cent recorded in February 2025.
In rural areas, inflation was 13.93 per cent year-on-year in February 2026, representing a decline from 22.73 per cent recorded in the same month of 2025. Month-on-month, rural inflation rose to 0.71 per cent, compared with -3.29 per cent in January.

The 12-month average rural inflation rate increased to 20.28 per cent, higher than the 16.47 per cent recorded a year earlier.
Food prices, which constitute a major component of household spending, also recorded a significant moderation on an annual basis.

Food inflation stood at 12.12 per cent year-on-year in February 2026, down sharply from 26.98 per cent recorded in February 2025.

Despite the annual decline, food prices increased on a monthly basis. Food inflation rose to 4.69 per cent in February, compared with -6.02 per cent recorded in January.

According to the NBS, the increase was driven largely by higher average prices of food items such as beans, carrots, cassava tubers, crayfish, millet flour, yam flour, snails and dried ogbono.

The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending February 2026 stood at 19.08 per cent, significantly lower than the 37.40 per cent recorded in February 2025, indicating an overall easing of food-related price pressures over the past year.