Nigeria’s inflation rate slowed again in August 2026, but millions of households are still paying considerably more for food, highlighting the gap between improving economic data and the reality at markets across the country.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that headline inflation eased marginally to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July, a decline of just 0.04 percentage points.

Month-on-month inflation showed a greater improvement, dropping to 0.71% from 1.57% in July.

The figures indicate that prices are rising more slowly, not that the general cost of goods has re-turned to previous levels.

Food prices remain a major pressure

Food remains one of the biggest pressure points for Nigerian households despite the broader in-flation slowdown.

Food inflation stood at 19.57% year-on-year in August, meaning average food prices remained substantially higher than a year earlier. However, month-on-month food inflation dropped sharply to 1.02% from 5.56% in July.

According to the NBS, changes in the prices of items such as palm oil, pepper, onions, beef, yam flour, water yam, egusi, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat, frozen chicken and turkey contributed to the moderation.

For consumers buying staples such as rice, yam and other household necessities, the latest fig-ures therefore signal slower price increases rather than a broad return to cheaper food.

Businesses get some relief from underlying inflation

There was a greater improvement in core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices.

Core inflation dropped to 13.29% year-on-year, compared with 22.93% in August 2025. Every month, the core index recorded negative inflation of 0.06%, compared with a 0.15% increase in July.

The moderation could be important for businesses because sustained easing in underlying infla-tion can eventually reduce pressure on operating costs and household purchasing power.

However, the relief remains uneven across Nigeria.

Lagos and Adamawa households face heavier pressure

Urban inflation stood at 15.88% year-on-year, compared with 14.23% in rural areas. But rural month-on-month inflation accelerated to 1.79% from 0.78%, while urban monthly inflation slowed sharply to 0.28%.

Lagos recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation at 23.68%, followed by Zamfara at 22.56% and Enugu at 22.06%. Sokoto had the lowest at 2.11%, followed by Kebbi and Jigawa.

Food inflation showed even sharper differences. Adamawa recorded the highest annual food in-flation at 38.85%, followed by Zamfara at 37.96% and Bayelsa at 36.20%.

The NBS cautioned that direct state-to-state comparisons can be misleading because consumption patterns and CPI weights differ.

For households, the broader message is clear: inflation is slowing, but the cost-of-living squeeze has not disappeared, The Guardian reported.

Food prices remain elevated, meaning consumers may need a sustained period of slower inflation before the improvement becomes more noticeable in their daily spending.