Nigeria’s Inflation Climbs To 15.38% In March

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.38% in March 2026, reflecting a modest increase from the 15.06% recorded in February.

This is according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 135.4 in March 2026, reflecting a 5.4-point increase from the preceding month (130.0).

In March 2026, the headline inflation rate rose to 15.38%, up from 15.06% in February 2026 and stood 27.35% in the same month of the preceding year (March 2025).

Looking at the movement, the March 2026 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.32% compared to that recorded in February 2026.

However, on a month-on-month basis, the rate in March 2026 was 4.18%, which was 2.17% higher than the rate recorded in February 2026 (2.01%).

The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending March 2026 over the average for the previous twelve-month period was 20.05%, showing a 1.48% increase compared to 18.58% recorded in March 2025.

On a year-on-year basis, in March 2026, the Urban inflation rate was 14.64%. On a month-on-month basis, the Urban inflation rate was 3.16% in March 2026, up by 0.61% compared to February 2026 (2.55%).

The corresponding twelve-month average for the Urban inflation rate was 20.04% in March 2026. This was 0.06% points lower compared to the 20.10% reported in March 2025.

Rural inflation rate in March 2026 was 17.22% on a year-on-year basis.

On a month-on-month ba sis, the Rural inflation rate in March 2026 was 6.73%, up by 6.02% compared to February 2026 (0,71%).

The corresponding twelve-month average for the Rural inflation rate in March 2026 was 19.74%. This was 2.93% points higher compared to the 16.81% recorded in March 2025.

The food inflation rate in the month under review was 14.31% on a year-on-year basis and stood at 25.22% in the same month of the preceding year (March 2025).

However, on a month-on-month basis, food inflation rate in March 2026 was 4.17%, down 0.52 percentage points from February 2026 (4.69%).

Credit: dailypost.ng

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