Nigeria Inflation Rate Quickens to 5-Month High in April

2026-05-15 14:14 By Luisa Carvalho 1 min. read

Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose for a second straight month to 15.69% in April 2026, the highest since last November, from March's 15.38%.

This partly reflected continued pass-through from the March fuel price shock linked to the Middle East conflict, which pushed up food prices and affected the exchange rate.

Food inflation, the largest component of the inflation basket, quickened for the third month to 16.06% in April, with increases seen across key staples, including millet, yam flour, ginger, beef, garri, tubers, pepper, among others.

Transportation prices rose by 16%, following a 16.9% surge in March.

Additional upward pressure came mostly from restaurants & hotels (27.9% vs 25.2%) and health (18.9% vs 20.1%).

However, the core inflation rate, which strips out the volatile prices of agricultural produce and energy, eased to 15.86% in April from 16.21% in the month before.

On a monthly basis, the CPI index advanced by 2.13%, after a 4.18% jump recorded in the prior month.



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Nigeria Inflation Rate Quickens to 5-Month High in April
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose for a second straight month to 15.69% in April 2026, the highest since last November, from March's 15.38%. This partly reflected continued pass-through from the March fuel price shock linked to the Middle East conflict, which pushed up food prices and affected the exchange rate. Food inflation, the largest component of the inflation basket, quickened for the third month to 16.06% in April, with increases seen across key staples, including millet, yam flour, ginger, beef, garri, tubers, pepper, among others. Transportation prices rose by 16%, following a 16.9% surge in March. Additional upward pressure came mostly from restaurants & hotels (27.9% vs 25.2%) and health (18.9% vs 20.1%). However, the core inflation rate, which strips out the volatile prices of agricultural produce and energy, eased to 15.86% in April from 16.21% in the month before. On a monthly basis, the CPI index advanced by 2.13%, after a 4.18% jump recorded in the prior month.
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Nigeria Inflation Rate Rises for 1st Time in a Year
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose slightly to 15.38% in March 2026 from 15.06% in February, ending an 11-month disinflation trend. Food inflation, the largest component of the inflation basket, accelerated for a second month to 14.31% from 12.12%, while transport prices rose even more sharply, up 16.9% from 14.7% in February. The Middle East crisis has triggered a sharp increase in domestic fuel costs. Prices also increased significantly for miscellaneous goods & services (24.5% vs 21.2%), but slowed for some categories, notably housing & utilities (10.2% sv 18.8%), alcoholic beverages & tobacco (4.5% vs 9.4%) and clothing & footwear (8.5% vs 16.1%). The core inflation rate, which strips out the volatile prices of agricultural produce and energy, quickened to 16.21% in March from 15.88% in February. On a monthly basis, prices climbed by 4.2%, marking the steepest increase since January 2025, largely driven by transportation costs (4% vs -0.3%).
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Nigeria Inflation Edges Lower to Five-Year Low in February
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate eased slightly to 15.06% in February 2026 from 15.10% in the previous month, marking the lowest level since November 2020 and the 11th consecutive month of declining inflation. However, the pace of disinflation has slowed in the past two months, following a small interest rate cut by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which signaled expectations that inflation will continue to moderate. Despite the overall slowdown, food inflation, traditionally the main driver of headline prices in the country, rose to 12.12% in February from 8.89% in January. The National Bureau of Statistics recently introduced a revised methodology for calculating inflation, shifting to a 12-month reference period instead of relying on a single-month comparison.
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