(Updates with details)

ABUJA, June 20 (Reuters) Nigerian inflation eased in May to its lowest level since January 2005, with the average consumer price level up 10.5 percent over the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

The composite consumer price index stood at 154.7 in May, representing a 0.08 percent rise over the 154.6 level recorded a month earlier, the office said in its monthly report.

''This rise in the index was largely attributable to the increase in the prices of some food items, drinks, personal care, vehicle parts and transportation costs,'' it said.

The government has set a target of reducing inflation to below 10 percent this year, as part of a series of measures aimed at stabilising the economy of the world's eighth largest oil exporter.

Having hit a recent peak at 28.2 percent in August last year, inflation has consistently remained in the 10-13 percent range since December.

The report said the 12-month average inflation level for the period ending in May stood at 16.4 percent, below the 16.9 percent level in April.

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