Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Hits 19.64 Percent, Highest In 17 Years

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 19.64 percent in July, the highest since September 2005, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, surged 17-year high from 18.60 percent in the previous month.

The increase was recorded against the backdrop of food inflation, which rose to 22.02 percent in July from 20.60 percent in June. The rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, oil, and fat.

The NBS in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2022 said that on a month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate in July 2022 was 1.817 %, which was 0.001% higher than the rate recorded in June 2022 (1.816 %).

“The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months period ending July 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 16.75%, showing a 0.46% increase compared to 16.30% recorded in July 2021,” the report said.

On a month-on-month basis, the report said food inflation rate in July was 2.04%, 0.01% insignificant decline compared to the rate recorded in June 2022 (2.05%).

“This decline is attributed to a reduction in the prices of some food items like tubers, maize, garri, and vegetables,” the report said.

On a state-by-state basis, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Kogi states witnessed the highest prices while Jigawa, Kano and Borno recorded the slowest rise in inflation.

“In July 2022, all items’ inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Akwa Ibom (22.88%), Ebonyi (22.51%), Kogi (22.08%), while Jigawa (16.62%), Kaduna (17.04%) and Borno (18.04%) recorded the slowest rise in headline Year-on-Year inflation,” the report said.