Nigeria’s Annual Inflation Rate Eases to 22.22% in June, Monthly Prices Still Rising

ABUJA, NIGERIA – Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated to 22.22% in June 2025, a decrease from 22.97% recorded in May, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

The year-on-year figure represents a 0.75 percentage point decline from the previous month and a more substantial 11.97 percentage point drop when compared to June 2024, when inflation stood at 34.19%. This annual decline is notably influenced by a rebased index, with 2024 now serving as the new base year.

However, the report also indicates that on a month-on-month basis, inflation saw a slight increase to 1.68% in June, up from 1.53% in May. This suggests that while the yearly pace of price increases is slowing, consumers are still experiencing faster price rises on a monthly basis. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) itself rose from 121.4 in May to 123.4 in June, pointing to persistent price pressures, particularly in sectors such as food, transport, and housing.

Food inflation, a significant component of the overall index, registered at 21.97% year-on-year in June, a notable reduction from 40.87% in June 2024, largely attributed to the base year effect. Conversely, month-on-month food inflation increased to 3.25% from 2.19% in May, driven by price hikes in staple items like tomatoes, pepper, meat, and plantain flour.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, also eased year-on-year to 22.76% in June 2025 from 27.4% in June 2024. However, it rose month-on-month to 2.46% from 1.10% in May, indicating renewed pressures in non-food components.

The NBS report highlighted diverging inflation trends between urban and rural areas. Urban inflation decreased annually to 22.72% but rose monthly to 2.11%. Rural inflation also eased annually to 20.85% but saw a slower monthly increase of 0.63%. At the state level, Borno recorded the highest year-on-year overall inflation at 31.63%, while Zamfara registered the lowest at 9.90%.

While the easing of inflation on a yearly basis may suggest some macroeconomic stability, the continuous rise in monthly rates indicates that Nigerian households continue to face considerable cost-of-living pressures.