Raphael Kanu
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 18.02 per cent in September 2025, down from 20.12 per cent recorded in August, according to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Wednesday.
The report marks the sixth consecutive month of decline in the country’s inflation rate, offering cautious optimism about stabilising consumer prices.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 14.68 percentage points lower than the 32.70 per cent recorded in September 2024. This shows a notable slowdown in price growth compared to the same period last year.
However, the report added that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate stood at 0.72 per cent in September, slightly below 0.74 per cent recorded in August. This means that although prices continued to rise, the rate of increase was marginally slower than in the previous month.
According to the NBS, food inflation declined significantly to 16.87 per cent year-on-year in September 2025, representing a 20.9 percentage point drop from 37.77 per cent in September 2024.
Similarly, core inflation — which excludes the prices of farm produce and energy — stood at 19.53 per cent in September 2025, down from 27.43 per cent recorded in the corresponding month of 2024.
The data suggests that inflationary pressures, while still present, are gradually moderating across major sectors of the economy.