Nigeria’s inflation rate slowed for the third consecutive month in June 2025, with consumer prices rising 22.22 percent year-on-year, offering a potential reprieve ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed the headline inflation rate declined from 22.97 percent in May to 22.22 percent in June, signaling a gradual easing of price pressures in the economy.
However, on a month-on-month basis, inflation edged up to 1.68 percent in June from 1.53 percent in May, indicating a continued, though moderate, rise in prices within the month.
The CBN has scheduled the 301st MPC meeting for July 21 and 22, 2025, where key decisions on interest rates will be taken amid ongoing concerns about inflationary pressures.
At its previous meeting in May, the MPC highlighted the persistence of reinflationary risks and maintained elevated interest rates to curb inflation, warning that premature rate cuts could threaten the naira’s stability. The committee noted that recent gains in the foreign exchange market were supported by attractive yields on Open Market Operation (OMO) bills.
Food inflation, a major driver of consumer price changes, declined sharply on a year-on-year basis to 21.97 percent in June from 21.14 percent in May, largely due to base-year effects related to inflation rebasing by the NBS.
Despite the annual decline, month-on-month food inflation rose marginally to 3.25 percent in June from 2.19 percent in May, driven by price increases in staples such as dried green peas, fresh pepper, dried shrimps, crayfish, fresh meat, fresh tomatoes, plantain flour, and ground pepper.