Nigeria: Inflation unexpectedly picks up in March
Latest reading: Consumer prices were up 15.4% in annual terms in March, following a 15.1% increase in the prior month. March’s acceleration took markets by surprise as another slowdown had been expected—the uptick was the result of the outbreak of the war in the Middle East in late February, which has since stoked fuel prices. Despite the rise, inflation remained within the Central Bank’s 14.5–18.5% tolerance band for 2026.
Relative to the previous month’s data, there were higher price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+14.1% in annual terms vs +11.0% in February) and transport (+16.9% vs +14.7% in February). In contrast, there were reduced price pressures for clothing and footwear (+8.5% vs +16.1% in February) and housing and utilities (+10.2% vs +18.8% in February).
Meanwhile, core consumer prices were up 15.7% in annual terms in March, following a 15.6% increase in the prior month.
Finally, consumer prices increased 4.18% in March on a month-on-month basis, following a 2.01% rise in the prior month.