Nigeria’s inflation rate continued its upward trajectory in March 2025, with headline inflation climbing to 24.23% year-on-year, up from 23.18% recorded in February. This marks a notable increase in price levels across the country.
A deeper look into the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals that the monthly inflation rate also surged, rising sharply to 3.90% in March, compared to 2.04% in February. This implies that short-term price pressures intensified during the month.
Interestingly, the latest inflationary spike was not primarily driven by food prices, as seen in previous trends. Instead, sectors such as energy, healthcare, and clothing and footwear contributed significantly to the overall increase, signaling a broader spread of inflation across non-food categories.
Despite the general rise, food inflation offered some relief, easing to 21.79% in March from 23.5% in February on a year-on-year basis. However, on a month-to-month basis, food prices still crept up, increasing by 2.18% in March compared to 1.67% the previous month.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out volatile items like food and energy, rose to 24.43% year-on-year in March 2025, up from 23.0% in February.
