Nigeria’s headline inflation slowed for the fifth consecutive month in August 2025, providing some respite for consumers grappling with high living costs.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that inflation dropped to 20.12 per cent, down from 21.88 per cent in July.
The figure represents a 1.76 percentage point decline on a month-on-month basis and a sharp fall from the 32.15 per cent recorded in August 2024.
The Consumer Price Index, which tracks the average change in prices of goods and services, inched up to 126.8 points in August from 125.9 points in July.
Food inflation, which remains the strongest driver of Nigeria’s inflation basket, also moderated in August but stayed elevated.
The index declined to 21.87 per cent year-on-year from 37.52 per cent in August 2024. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation slowed to 1.65 per cent, compared with 3.12 per cent in July.
Across the states, inflation trends remained mixed. Ekiti posted the highest year-on-year headline inflation at 28.17 per cent, followed by Kano at 27.27 per cent and Oyo at 26.58 per cent, while Zamfara at 11.82 per cent, Anambra at 14.16 per cent, and Enugu at 14.20 per cent recorded the lowest.
The announcement of the inflation slowdown comes just days before the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for September 22 and 23, 2025.
The committee is expected to deliberate on whether to maintain or adjust the current 27.5 per cent benchmark interest rate.
While five straight months of disinflation could give the bank some policy flexibility, the persistence of food and core inflation suggests that the MPC may remain cautious in its decisions.
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