LAGOS – Annual inflation in Nigeria eased for a fifth straight month in June, slowing to 16.1 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Inflation cartoon

A separate food price index showed inflation at 19.91 percent, up from 19.27 percent in May, indicating continued pressure on food prices, the NBS said in a report.

Annual inflation slowed in May to 16.25 percent. It recorded its first recent slowing in February.

Nigeria is in its second year of recession and is contending with a currency crisis and dollar shortages brought on by low oil prices, which is the OPEC member’s mainstay.