Nigerians Optimistic as Inflation Rate Shows Signs of Slowing

More Nigerians are beginning to perceive a slowdown in the inflation rate in the country, according to the latest Inflation Expectations Survey published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for June 2025.

The report indicates a noticeable shift in public sentiment toward a more optimistic view of price stability, with fewer respondents describing inflation as high compared to previous months.

The percentage of respondents (71.0%) who perceive that inflation is high declined in June 2025, compared to those of previous month (75.3%), CBN stated in the report.

This reflects growing confidence in recent economic measures aimed at stabilizing the macroeconomic environment, especially as the federal government and the apex bank continue to implement inflation-targeting policies.

The CBN survey further reveals that those who perceive inflation as moderate increased from 18.2% in May 2025 to 20.9% in June.

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Also, those who perceive inflation rate as low increased from 6.5% to 8.1% between May and June 2025.

A closer breakdown of the data shows a significant shift among households, where the perception of high inflation dropped sharply. The number of household respondents who viewed inflation as high fell from 79.6% in May to 69.5% in June a 10.1 percentage point decline.

At the same time, household perceptions of moderate inflation increased from 15.9% to 22.7%, while those who viewed it as low rose from 4.4% to 7.8%.

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However, business sentiment did not mirror this broader trend. The percentage of business respondents who perceive inflation as high rose slightly from 71.5% in May to 72.3% in June.

What you should know 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that Nigerias headline inflation rate eased to 22.22% in June 2025, down from 22.97% recorded in May 2025.

• The NBS data shows that on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.97% lower than the rate recorded in June 2024, which was at 34.19%.
• The NBS noted that, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in June 2025 stood at 1.68%, representing an increase of 0.15 percentage points from the 1.53% recorded in May 2025.
• This indicates that the average price level rose at a faster rate in June compared to May 2025.
• The percentage change in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12 months ending June 2025, compared to the previous 12-month period, was 26.58%a 3.42 percentage point decline from the 30.00% recorded in June 2024.

In its earlier released Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report for June 2025, CBN raised concerns that the continued rise in input costs across major sectors may trigger a new round of consumer price inflation, as businesses struggle to absorb cost pressures.