Nigeria Inflation Edges Up to 15.3% in March, Ends Year-Long Decline

Nigeria Inflation Edges Up to 15.3% in March, Ends Year-Long Decline

Nigeria’s inflation rate has recorded its first increase in nearly a year, rising to 15.38 per cent in March 2026, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The new figure marks an uptick from the 15.06 per cent recorded in February, bringing an end to a steady decline that began in April 2025.

Details released in the Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday showed a 0.32 percentage point increase in headline inflation compared to the previous month.

“The headline inflation rate rose to 15.38 per cent, up from 15.06 per cent in February 2026,” the bureau said, noting that the rate had stood much higher at 27.35 per cent in March 2025.

On a month-to-month basis, inflation pressures also strengthened, with the rate rising to 4.18 per cent in March from 2.01 per cent in February.

“This means that the rate of increase in the average price level was higher than in the previous month,” the report stated.

Food prices, a major driver of inflation, showed a mixed trend. The food inflation rate stood at 14.31 per cent year-on-year, lower than the 25.22 per cent recorded in March last year.

However, on a monthly basis, food inflation eased slightly to 4.17 per cent, down from 4.69 per cent in February, reflecting changes in the prices of staples such as yam, cassava, tomatoes and groundnuts.

Across states, there were wide differences in food price movements. Bayelsa, Sokoto and Adamawa recorded the highest year-on-year increases, while Kano, Oyo and Katsina posted the slowest rise.

On a month-on-month basis, Sokoto, Niger and Gombe recorded the sharpest increases in food inflation, while Katsina, Ogun and Adamawa saw slight declines.

The latest figures suggest that while annual inflation has moderated compared to last year, short-term price pressures remain uneven, particularly across food items and regions.