Slower Price Rises: Nigeria's Inflation Eases to 14.63% as Food Inflation Edges Up to 19.59%Slower Price Rises: Nigeria's Inflation Eases to 14.63% as Food Inflation Edges Up to 19.59%

The National Bureau of Statistics reported in its Consumer Price Index release on 15 October 2026 that annual headline inflation fell to 14.63% in September from 15.39% in August, a drop of 0.76 percentage points. A year earlier, in September 2025, the rate was 20.98%, so the annual rate is now 6.35 points lower. For households and businesses, the figure means prices are climbing more slowly, not that they have returned to earlier levels.

Food prices fall on the month but stay high on the year

Food inflation edged up to 19.59% in September from 19.57% in August, a marginal rise that sits below the 20.16% recorded in September 2025. The bureau's monthly data tell a more encouraging story: food prices fell 1.55% between August and September, after rising 1.02% in the previous month.

The gap between the two readings reflects how inflation is measured. The annual rate compares this September with last September, so earlier price increases still sit inside the figure even when prices fall in the latest month. As Mwenendo earlier reported on how Rwanda's urban food costs climbed sharply, food prices are also a pressure point for households elsewhere in Africa.

Month-on-month headline inflation slowed to 0.06% in September from 0.71% in August, which the bureau described as 0.65 percentage points lower than the August rate. That is the clearest sign that price pressure eased during the month itself.

Core inflation eases while Ghana and Kenya see prices rise

Core inflation, which strips out farm produce and energy, fell to 12.95% in September from 13.29% in August. It is a useful guide to underlying price pressure because it removes the items whose prices swing most with harvests and fuel costs.

Nigeria's slowdown contrasts with the picture in other African economies reporting September figures. Mwenendo has covered how Ghana's inflation rose to 5.20% on higher services costs, and how Kenya's inflation reached 6.8% as transport prices rose.

For Nigerian consumers, the practical message is mixed: the cost of living is rising more slowly, yet a food rate near 20% still weighs on household budgets. The bureau's next monthly release will show whether the fall in food prices continues.