Surging energy prices fuel, diesel, and electricity are the main inflation drivers for Nigerian businesses, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed in its May 2025 Inflation Expectation Survey.
A striking 90.8% of firms identified energy costs as their top inflationary concern, with exchange rate volatility (88.5%) and transportation (87.2%) following closely.
The report highlights how structural issues continue to inflate operational costs, despite a high Monetary Policy Rate of 27.5%. Businesses argue that interest rate hikes alone can't tackle the supply-side triggers of inflation.
Other key inflationary pressures include borrowing costs (85.5%), insecurity (84.7%), raw material prices (78.3%), and weak infrastructure (75%). Middlemen and natural disasters, while notable, were seen as less impactful.
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For households, transportation (85%), exchange rate instability (82%), and insecurity (80%) emerged as major concerns after energy. Overall, 75.3% of survey respondents believe inflation remains high—up from 70% in April.
Large firms (78.2%) expressed the most concern, followed by micro (72.8%) and medium-sized businesses (70.6%).
The CBN noted: "Respondents identified energy, exchange rate, and transportation as the top three inflation drivers."
These findings underscore urgent calls for structural reforms beyond monetary tightening.
