JUST IN: Nigeria’s Inflation plummets again to 15.10% in January

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Nigeria’s inflation rate recorded another marginal decline in January 2026, easing to 15.10 per cent from 15.15 per cent in December 2025, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The bureau said the 0.05 percentage point drop reflects a continued moderation in the general price level at the start of the year.

On a year-on-year basis, headline inflation fell significantly by 12.51 percentage points when compared with the 27.61 per cent recorded in January 2025, indicating a marked slowdown in inflationary pressures relative to the same period last year.

The report further showed that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate stood at -2.88 per cent in January 2026. This represents a 3.42 percentage point decline compared to the 0.54 per cent recorded in December 2025.

The negative month-on-month reading suggests that the pace of increase in the average price level slowed considerably in January compared with the previous month.

However, despite the recent moderation, the NBS reports that the percentage change in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the twelve months ending January 2026 rose to 21.97 per cent.

This marks a 4.37 percentage point increase from the 17.59 per cent recorded in January 2025, signalling that underlying price pressures remain elevated over the broader twelve-month period.

According to NBS, disaggregated data showed that urban inflation on a year-on-year basis stood at 15.36 per cent in January 2026, a sharp 14.09 percentage point drop from the 29.45 per cent recorded in January 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation declined to -2.72 per cent in January 2026, down by 3.71 percentage points compared with 0.99 per cent in December 2025.

Nevertheless, the twelve-month average urban inflation rate rose to 22.30 per cent in January 2026, 3.42 percentage points higher than the 18.88 per cent reported in January 2025.

In rural areas, the bureau said inflation on a year-on-year basis was 14.44 per cent in January 2026, representing a 10.60 percentage point decline from the 25.04 per cent recorded in January 2025.

Month-on-month, rural inflation fell further to -3.29 per cent in January 2026, down by 2.74 percentage points from -0.55 per cent recorded in December 2025.

The twelve-month average rural inflation rate stood at 21.03 per cent in January 2026, reflecting a notable 9.76 percentage point decrease compared with the 30.79 per cent recorded in January 2025.