Nigeria’s headline inflation rate moderated marginally by 0.04 per cent to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 from 15.10 per cent in January 2026.
This information was contained in the latest data of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
It was revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures changes in the average price level of goods and services, rose to 130.0 in February from 127.4 in the preceding month, representing a 2.6-point increase.
On a month-on-month basis, however, inflationary pressures accelerated.
The headline inflation rate stood at 2.01 per cent in February 2026, marking a sharp increase of 4.89 percentage points compared to the -2.88 per cent recorded in January 2026.
At 15.06 per cent, the print is higher than analysts’ expectations. Coronation Research projected over the weekend that the inflation rate for the month under review would moderate by 0.98 per cent to 14.12 per cent.
“Our projection is supported by favourable base effects, easing food price pressures, and slight appreciation of the Naira,” a part of the report said.
The organisation revealed that ongoing government interventions in the agricultural sector to improve food supply conditions were beginning to ease pressures within the food component of the consumer basket.
It further stated that “appreciation of the Naira to N1,363.40/1$ from N1,386.55/1$ in January is expected to reduce the cost of imported food items.”
However, it stressed that the ongoing US/Israel-Iran war was capable of reversing the deflationary trends because of the rising global energy prices.
The marginal moderation further lends credence to the 50-basis-point cut in interest rate at the 304th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to 26.50 per cent from 27 per cent.