Slight inflation decline offers cautious optimism for businesses — LCCI

2026-03-18 - 06:52

By Yinka Kolawole The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said the marginal decline in Nigeria’s inflation rate offers cautious optimism for businesses and households, even as it warned that underlying risks could derail the fragile progress. In its reaction to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report yesterday, LCCI noted that headline inflation moderated slightly to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 from 15.10 per cent in January. It also highlighted a more significant drop from 26.27 per cent recorded in February 2025, describing the trend as a gradual easing of inflationary pressures. Director General of LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, said the development provides some relief to businesses and consumers that have grappled with rising costs and weakened purchasing power over the past year. “From the perspective of the organised private sector, the slight moderation in inflation offers cautious optimism for businesses and households, as high inflation has significantly eroded purchasing power, increased production costs, and weakened consumer demand across several sectors,” she said. However, the Chamber stressed that inflationary pressures remain persistent, noting that month-on-month inflation rose to 2.01 per cent in February after contracting in January, signalling continued price pressures. According to LCCI, food inflation remains the dominant driver, reflecting structural inefficiencies in Nigeria’s food supply chain, elevated logistics costs, and production constraints. The Chamber further warned that a mix of domestic and global risks could reverse recent gains. It cited rising geopolitical tensions linked to the Iran conflict in the Middle East as a potential trigger for volatility in global energy markets, with implications for fuel, transportation and logistics costs. LCCI noted that Nigeria could cushion such shocks by expanding local refining capacity and increasing crude supply to domestic refineries. It also raised concerns over possible exchange-rate volatility driven by disruptions in global supply chains, warning that renewed pressure in the foreign exchange market could raise the cost of imported raw materials, machinery, pharmaceuticals and food items.