Updated: Inflation rate rises to 15.38% in March

By Progress Godfrey

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.38 per cent in March 2026, up from 15.06 per cent recorded in February, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), released on Wednesday.

The NBS said the increase reflects renewed pressure on consumer prices, with the month-on-month inflation rate jumping sharply to 4.18 per cent in March from 2.01 per cent in February, indicating a faster pace of price increases across the economy.

Data from the report showed that Food and non-alcoholic beverages, Restaurants and accommodation services, and Transport were the biggest drivers of inflation during the period, even as food inflation eased slightly on a year-on-year basis to 14.31 per cent.

The report also highlighted rising cost pressures in both urban and rural areas, with rural inflation climbing to 17.22 per cent, while several states including Bayelsa, Sokoto and Bauchi recorded the highest inflation rates nationwide.

The NBS said: “Following the completion of the recent rebasing exercise, this report is centred on a new CPI base year of 2024 and a weight reference period of 2023. Hence, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 135.40 in March 2026, and reflects a 5.4-point increase from the preceding month.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate for March 2026 stood at 15.38%, when compared to 15.06% and 27.35% recorded in February 2026 and March 2025; respectively. The month-on-month headline inflation rate in March 2026 was 4.18%, which was 2.17% higher than the rate recorded in February 2026 (2.01%).

“At the divisional level, the three major contributors to the headline inflation were Food and non-alcoholic Beverages: 5.55%, Restaurants & Accommodation Services: 3.26%, and Transport: 1.80%; while the least contributors were Recreation, Sport, and Culture: 0.00%, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics: 0.02%, and Insurance and Financial Services: 0.02%.

“The Food inflation rate in March 2026 was 14.31% on a year-on-year basis, lower than 25.22% recorded in March 2025. Also, on a month-on-month basis, the Food Inflation rate in March 2026 was 4.17%, down by 0.52% points from February 2026 (4.69%). This can be attributed to the rate of change in the average prices of Water Yam, Ginger (Fresh), Cassava Tuber, Groundnuts (Shelled), Irish Potatoes, Avenger (Ogbono/Apon) – Dried Ungrinded, Tomatoes (fresh), Cassava Flour sold loose, among others.”

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