ABUJA — Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.38 per cent in March 2026, up from 15.06 per cent recorded in February, according to the latest report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, said the latest figures reflect the impact of the recently concluded rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which adopts 2024 as the new base year and 2023 as the reference period for weights.
The report showed that the CPI rose to 135.40 in March, indicating a 5.4-point increase from the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, inflation stood at 15.38 per cent in March 2026, compared to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 and 27.35 per cent in March 2025, suggesting a sharp moderation from last year despite the current uptick.
Month-on-month, however, inflation accelerated significantly to 4.18 per cent in March, up from 2.01 per cent recorded in February, highlighting renewed pressure on consumer prices.
A breakdown of the data showed that the largest contributors to headline inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages (5.55 per cent), restaurants and accommodation services (3.26 per cent), and transport (1.80 per cent).
Food inflation stood at 14.31 per cent year-on-year, lower than 25.22 per cent recorded in March 2025. On a month-on-month basis, food prices eased slightly to 4.17 per cent, compared to 4.69 per cent in February, driven by changes in the prices of staples such as yam, cassava, tomatoes, and groundnuts.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy, rose to 16.21 per cent year-on-year, while month-on-month core inflation jumped to 4.03 per cent from 0.89 per cent in February.
The report also introduced new sub-indices, showing month-on-month increases in farm produce (4.6 per cent), energy (6.6 per cent), services (2.6 per cent), goods (5.5 per cent), and imported food (1.1 per cent).
On a geographical basis, rural inflation remained higher at 17.22 per cent year-on-year, compared to 14.64 per cent in urban areas, reflecting persistent cost pressures in non-urban communities. Month-on-month, rural inflation surged sharply to 6.73 per cent, while urban inflation rose modestly to 3.16 per cent.
At the state level, Bayelsa, Sokoto and Bauchi recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rates, while Osun, Kano and Kaduna posted the lowest increases.
Analysts say the latest data underscores the mixed impact of recent economic adjustments, with easing annual inflation trends juxtaposed against rising short-term price pressures, particularly in energy, transport and food-related segments.
