Nigeria inflation eased to 15.06% in February 2026, down from 15.10%, while food inflation rose sharply, NBS reports

Nigeria’s inflation rate eased to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, down from 15.10 per cent in January, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported on Monday.

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The bureau’s February Consumer Price Index and inflation report indicated that the country’s headline inflation declined by 0.04 percentage points on a month-to-month basis.

However, food inflation surged to 12.12 per cent in February from 8.89 per cent in the previous month, highlighting persistent pressures in essential commodities.

The NBS noted that on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation rose by 2.01 per cent in February, compared with a decline of 2.88 per cent in January.

“This means that in February 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in January 2026,” the report stated.

Financial analysts at the Financial Derivatives Company, FDC, had predicted a steeper decline, forecasting that February’s headline inflation would fall to 14.07 per cent.

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Economists are now observing the rising food costs, warning that the increase could affect household budgets and economic planning despite the overall easing of headline inflation.