Inflation Drops to 14.63%

James Emejo in Abuja

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the rate of change in prices of good and commodities declined to 14.63 per cent in September, from 15.39 per cent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said Thursday.
The drop was ocassioned by falling food prices which helped to moderate the cost of living, although underlying price pressures showed signs of renewed strength.

According to the CPI report for the month under review, headline inflation rate fell by 6.35 percentage points from 20.98 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
However, the relief remained uneven, with the core inflation rate, which excludes farm produce and energy, rising on a month-on-month basis, while urban inflation also accelerated during the review period.

The CPI increased marginally to 146.38 points in September from 146.30 points in August, indicating that the overall price level continued to edge upwards despite the slower annual inflation rate.
Month-on-month, headline inflation declined sharply to 0.06 per cent in September, compared with 0.71 per cent in August, the NBS stated.

This is as average prices continued to increase, but at a substantially slower pace than in the preceding month.
Food prices provided the strongest relief during the period, as food inflation declined to 19.59 per cent year-on-year in September, from 20.16 per cent in September 2025.

Food inflation turned negative on a month-on-month basis, falling to -1.55 per cent from 1.02 per cent in August.
The NBS attributed the development to changes in the average prices of several food items, including guinea corn flour, white maize flour, local short-grain rice, eggs, fresh onions, palm oil, fresh green beans, Irish potatoes, okra, fresh tomatoes, dried green peas and plantain.
The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending September stood at 15.72 per cent, down from 28.37 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.

Despite the moderation, food inflation remained a major concern, with significant differences in price movements across states.
Core inflation presented a less encouraging picture, rising to 1.11 per cent month-on-month in September from -0.06 per cent in August.
Year-on-year, core inflation stood at 12.95 per cent, down from 22.11 per cent in September 2025.
The average annual core inflation rate for the 12 months ending September was 16.54 per cent, compared with 25.68 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The divergence between falling food prices and the acceleration in monthly core inflation suggests that the easing in headline inflation was not broad-based across all components of the consumer basket.
Urban inflation also remained elevated, standing at 15.64 per cent year-on-year in September, while its month-on-month rate increased to 0.53 per cent from 0.28 per cent in August.

The average annual urban inflation rate for the 12 months ending September was 15.90 per cent, substantially below the 28.48 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Rural inflation stood at 12.46 per cent year-on-year, with the monthly rate falling to -0.89 per cent from 1.79 per cent in August.
The average annual rural inflation rate declined to 15.32 per cent from 25.67 per cent in September 2025.
At the state level, Imo recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation at 30.04 per cent, followed by Enugu at 22.38 per cent and Niger at 22.05 per cent.

Taraba recorded the lowest annual headline inflation at 1.78 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 2.84 per cent and Adamawa at 3.66 per cent.
Month-on-month, Imo also recorded the highest headline inflation at 8.64 per cent, followed by Kaduna at 4.46 per cent and Sokoto at 3.01 per cent.
In contrast, Adamawa recorded the steepest monthly decline at -6.10 per cent, followed by Bauchi at -5.31 per cent and Kano at -4.49 per cent.