By Shiktra Shalangwa
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says that in August 2025, the headline inflation rate eased to 20.12% relative to the July 2025 headline inflation rate of 21.88%.
This means the August 2025 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.76% compared to July 2025.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 12.03 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in August 2024 (32.15%).
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2025 was 0.74%, which was 1.25 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in July 2025 (1.99%).
Also, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 126.8 in August 2025, reflecting a 0.9-point increase from the preceding month (125.9).
The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending August 2025, compared with the average for the previous twelve-month period, was 24.66%, showing a 6.6 percentage point decrease compared to 31.26% recorded in August 2024.
On a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate in August 2025 was 19.75%, which was 14.83 percentage points lower compared to 34.58% in August 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 0.49% in August 2025, down by 1.37 percentage points compared to July 2025 (1.86%). The corresponding twelve-month average for the urban inflation rate was 25.81% in August 2025, 7.63 percentage points lower compared to 33.44% reported in August 2024.
The rural inflation rate in August 2025 was 20.28% year-on-year, 9.67 percentage points lower than the 29.95% recorded in August 2024. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate was 1.38% in August 2025, down by 0.92 percentage points compared to July 2025 (2.30%).
The corresponding twelve-month average for the rural inflation rate was 23.07% in August 2025, 6.25 percentage points lower compared to 29.32% in August 2024.
Food inflation in August 2025 was 21.87% year-on-year, 15.65 percentage points lower compared to 37.52% in August 2024. The significant decline in annual food inflation is technically due to a change in the base year.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in August 2025 was 1.65%, down by 1.47 percentage points compared to July 2025 (3.12%).
The decrease can be attributed to the decline in the average prices of imported rice, local rice, guinea corn flour, maize flour (loose), guinea corn (sorghum), millet, semolina, soya milk, etc.
The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending August 2025 was 25.75%, which was 11.24 percentage points lower compared with the 36.99% recorded in August 2024.
The “All items less farm produces and energy” or core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 20.33% in August 2025 year-on-year, a decline of 7.25 percentage points compared to 27.58% in August 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 1.43% in August 2025, up by 0.46 percentage points compared to July 2025 (0.97%). The average twelve-month annual core inflation rate was 23.04% for the twelve months ending August 2025, 2.14 percentage points lower than 25.18% in August 2024.
In analysing price movements, it should be noted that CPI is weighted by consumption expenditure patterns, which differ across states and locations.
Accordingly, the weight assigned to a particular food or non-food item may differ from state to state, making interstate comparisons of consumption baskets inadvisable and potentially misleading.
All Items Inflation
In August 2025, the all-items inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Ekiti (28.17%), Kano (27.27%), and Oyo (26.58%), while Zamfara (11.82%), Anambra (14.16%), and Enugu (14.20%) recorded the lowest rise.
On a month-on-month basis, Yobe (9.20%), Katsina (8.59%), and Sokoto (6.57%) recorded the highest increases, while Enugu (-5.32%), Taraba (-3.64%), and Nasarawa (-3.56%) recorded declines.
Food Inflation
In August 2025, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Borno (36.67%), Kano (30.44%), and Akwa Ibom (29.85%), while Zamfara (3.30%), Yobe (3.60%), and Sokoto (6.34%) recorded the slowest rise.
On a month-on-month basis, Kaduna (9.37%), Katsina (9.05%), and Akwa Ibom (7.87%) recorded the highest increases, while Bayelsa (-9.52%), Sokoto (-8.92%), and Borno (-8.74%) recorded declines.