Nigeria’s inflation rate eased significantly to 20.12 percent in August 2025, marking a 1.76 percentage point decline from 21.88 percent in July 2025, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

 

The NBS report highlights a notable deceleration in both headline and food inflation, with the headline rate on a year-on-year basis showing a sharp drop of 12.03 percentage points compared to the 32.15 percent recorded in August 2024.

 

“Looking at the movement, the August 2025 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.76 percent compared to the July 2025 rate,” the NBS stated.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate stood at 0.74 percent, which is 1.25 percentage points lower than the 1.99 percent recorded in July 2025. This means that the pace of price increases slowed significantly in August compared to the previous month.

 

“In August 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in July 2025,” the NBS report noted.

The food inflation rate, a key driver of overall inflation, also saw a substantial drop. On a year-on-year basis, food inflation was recorded at 21.87 percent, down from 37.52 percent in August 2024—a 15.65 percentage point decrease.

 

The NBS attributed this sharp decline, in part, to a technical adjustment in the base year used for comparison.

 

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation came in at 1.65 percent, also lower than the 3.12 percent recorded in July 2025, a drop of 1.47 percentage points.

 

The NBS credited the month-on-month food inflation drop to falling prices in key staple items, including:

• Imported and local rice

• Guinea corn flour

• Maize flour (sold loose)

• Sorghum (Guinea corn)

• Millet

• Semolina

• Soya milk

 

These commodities saw reduced average prices, contributing to the lower inflation rate.

The average annual food inflation for the 12 months ending August 2025 was 25.75 percent, which is 11.24 percentage points lower than the 36.99 percent average recorded in August 2024.

Analysts say the figures could signal the beginning of a sustained disinflation trend, particularly if government policies continue to stabilize the exchange rate, improve agricultural production, and reduce import-related costs.

 

The moderation in inflation is expected to ease pressure on household incomes, improve consumer confidence, and potentially influence the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy stance in the coming months.