Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.91% in June 2026, while the country’s external reserves climbed to $51.86 billion, the highest level in more than 17 years.
Revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed inflation slowed marginally from 15.93% recorded in May.
Although the overall figure changed little, food prices still increased, keeping pressure on households across the country.
Food inflation rose to 17.52% year-on-year in June from 16.96% in May. On a monthly basis, it rose to 3.75%, up from 2.98% a month earlier, showing that the cost of food is still increasing despite the moderation in headline inflation.
The report also showed that headline inflation rose by 1.66% month-on-month in June, lower than the 1.75% recorded in May, indicating that prices increased at a slower pace during the month.
Urban inflation stood at 16.08% year-on-year, while rural inflation came in at 15.48%.
Core inflation, which excludes agricultural produce and energy prices, was 15.92% in June. On a monthly basis, it fell to 1.66% from 1.94% in May.
At the state level, Kogi recorded the highest food inflation rate at 53.02%, followed by Niger at 43.83% and Benue at 40.83%. Katsina, Rivers and Imo recorded the slowest year-on-year rise in food prices.
On a month-on-month basis, Katsina posted the highest food inflation rate at 16.82%, followed by Kebbi at 9.79% and Niger at 8.96%. Borno recorded the biggest decline at -3.54%.
While inflation in June 2026 remained relatively stable, Nigeria’s foreign reserves continued to grow.
CBN data showed the country’s gross external reserves rose to $51.86 billion as of July 14, 2026, surpassing the apex bank’s full-year projection and reaching the highest level since January 2009.
The reserves increased by about $22.69 million between July 13 and July 14, maintaining a steady upward movement over the past few months, rising from $51.52 billion at the beginning of July to $51.76 billion before reaching the current level.
The improvement follows strong profits in June, when reserves increased from $49.58 billion at the end of May to $51.45 billion by the end of June. Earlier in the year, reserves rose from $46.27 billion in January to $49.69 billion in February before dipping slightly in April and recovering strongly in the second quarter.
The CBN had projected external reserves would reach about $51.04 billion in 2026, supported by stronger oil earnings, foreign exchange reforms, increased diaspora remittances, higher capital inflows, expanded domestic refining and sovereign bond issuances. The latest figure has already exceeded that target by roughly $800 million.
Commenting on the development, Dr. Jerry Igwilo, CEO of Nisela Capital Limited, linked the rise in reserves to stronger crude oil earnings.
“We have seen that in the last couple of months, the prices of crude oil have gone up because of the Iran-US war. What that has done is that it has increased the amount of dollars we get for selling our crude oil.
“For Nigeria, the increase in foreign reserves means that we’re able to get more revenue in foreign currency,” he said.
He added that improving economic fundamentals and stronger foreign exchange earnings had also supported the reserve build-up.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said the increase reflected stronger investor confidence and improving export performance.
“It takes a lot of confidence in an economy for foreign inflows to come in, and of course, we have seen significant improvement in portfolio flows especially.
“In addition to that, our export performance has been improving. If you look at our trade data, you will see that increasingly, we have been in surplus for some time now,” he said.
Yusuf added:
“Generally, I think it’s a reflection of the improving level of confidence in the economy. It’s also a reflection of the fact that we have very good returns in our financial instruments.”
