Business Highlight

Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Edges Down to 22.97% – NBS

Per Second NewsJune 17, 20251.6k

Nigeria’s inflation rate saw a slight dip in May 2025, reaching 22.97% showing a 0.74% decrease from the April 2025 rate of 23.71%.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, the primary drivers of this inflation were:

* Food and non-alcoholic beverages: 9.20%

* Restaurants & accommodation services: 2.97%

* Transport: 2.45%

The NBS stated that the least contributors were Recreation, Sport, and Culture: 0.07 percent, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics: 0.09 percent, and Insurance and Financial Services: 0.11 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in May 2025 was 1.53 percent, which was 0.33 percent lower than the 1.86 percent recorded in April 2025.

The food inflation rate in May 2025 was 21.14 percent on a year-on-year basis, while on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate was 2.19 percent, which rose by 0.13 percent compared to 2.06 percent in April 2025.

The NBS attributed the increase to the rate of increase in average prices of items such as Yam, Avenger (Ogbono/Apon), Cassava Tuber, Maize Flour, Fresh Pepper, Sweet Potatoes, etc.

Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 22.28 percent in May 2025 on a year-on-year basis.

On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 1.10 percent in May 2025, down 0.24 percentage points from 1.34 percent in April 2025.

The NBS pointed out that the inflation rate of the newly introduced sub-indices for May 2025 shows that both farm produce and goods stood at 22.38 percent and 9.39 percent compared to April 2025, which were 0.95 percent and 1.89 percent respectively.

“Conversely, Services and Energy stood at 1.79% and -0.43% compared to 2.20% and 13.6% recorded in the previous month, respectively. Urban and Rural Inflation Rates: On a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate in May 2025 was 23.14%.

“On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 1.40% in May 2025, up by 0.22% compared to April 2025 (1.18%). The rural inflation rate in May 2025 was 22.70% on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in May 2025 was 1.83%, down by 1.72% compared to April 2025 (3.56%),” the NBS stated.

The NBS further stated that”Please note that the State CPI for April 2025 for some states has been revised due to updated information. This change affected all states except for Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, and the FCT. The revision, however, does not affect the National CPI for April 2025.

“The all-item index for May 2025, on a year-on-year basis, was highest in Borno (38.93%), Niger (34.97%), and Plateau (32.35%), while it recorded the lowest in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis in Katsina (16.25%), Adamawa (18.20%), Delta (18.41%).

“On a month-on-month basis, May 2025 recorded the highest increases in Bayelsa (9.11%), Bauchi (4.85%), and Borno (4.42%), while it recorded declines in Kaduna (-6.75%), Jigawa (-4.40%), and Edo (-2.94%).”

State-level analyses of the food index in May 2025 show that food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Borno (64.36%), Bayelsa (39.85%), Taraba (38.58%); while it recorded the slowest rise in Katsina (6.90%), Rivers (9.18%), and Kwara (11.31%).

On a month-on-month basis, in May 2025 food inflation was highest in Bayelsa (12.68%), Cross River (11.15%), and Anambra (9.10%); while states like Katsina (-5.42%), Jigawa (-4.02%) and Kaduna (-3.27%) recorded declines in food inflation on a month-on-month basis.