Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined to 23.71% in April 2025, down from 24.23% in March, with a 0.52% drop on a month-on-month (M-o-M) basis. On a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, the Headline inflation rate was 9.99% lower than the rate recorded in April 2024 of 33.69%. This shows that the Headline inflation rate Y-o-Y decreased in April 2025 compared to April 2024, though with a different base year, November 2009 = 100. Furthermore, on a M-o-M basis, the Headline inflation rate in April 2025 was 1.86%, which was 2.04% lower than the rate recorded in March 2025 of 3.90%.
Food inflation, which is a major contributor to the overall index, also saw significant moderation. The year-on-year (Y-o-Y) food inflation rate fell to 21.26% in April 2025, compared to 40.53% in April 2024, showing a 19.27% drop, largely attributed to the new CPI base year. On a M-o-M basis, food inflation was 2.06%, down slightly from 2.18% in March 2025. The slowdown was influenced by falling prices in key staples such as maize flour, wheat grain, yam flour, soybeans, rice, and brown beans.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural and energy prices, stood at 23.39% Y-o-Y in April 2025, with a 3.45% drop from 26.84% in April 2024. On a M-o-M basis, core inflation dropped to 1.34%, down from 3.73% in March 2025. The twelve-month average core inflation was 24.91%, up by 2.07% from 22.84% in April 2024.
Analysts believe that the April 2025 inflation figure shows a broad-based easing driven by base adjustments, slowing price growth, and seasonal food supply improvements. However, with the average annual core inflation still on the rise, concerns around structural inflation remain. Policymakers will need to balance inflation with economic growth strategies, especially as we approach the second half of the year.