Nigeria: Inflation Rate Rises for 1st Time in a Year.

Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose slightly to 15.38% in March 2026 from 15.06% in February, ending an 11-month disinflation trend. Food inflation, the largest component of the inflation basket, accelerated for a second month to 14.31% from 12.12%, while transport prices rose even more sharply, up 16.9% from 14.7% in February. The Middle East crisis has triggered a sharp increase in domestic fuel costs. Prices also increased significantly for miscellaneous goods & services (24.5% vs 21.2%), but slowed for some categories, notably housing & utilities (10.2% sv 18.8%), alcoholic beverages & tobacco (4.5% vs 9.4%) and clothing & footwear (8.5% vs 16.1%). The core inflation rate, which strips out the volatile prices of agricultural produce and energy, quickened to 16.21% in March from 15.88% in February. On a monthly basis, prices climbed by 4.2%, marking the steepest increase since January 2025, largely driven by transportation costs (4% vs -0.3%).