By Charles Abuede & Onome Amuge
Easing further by 0.37 basis points for the fourth consecutive month to 17.38 percent year on year in July 2021, Nigeria’s consumer price index, which measures inflation, has reported a continuous month on month growth in July, however, on a slower pace from 17.75 percent in June 2021, recent inflation data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have shown.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline index advanced 0.93 percent in July 2021, but was down 0.13 percent compared to 1.06 percent recorded in June 2021.
The urban inflation rate was up 18.01 percent year-on-year in July 2021 from 18.35 percent in June 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased by 16.75 percent in July 2021 from 17.16 percent in June 2021.
According to the report, there were rises in all the 12 classifications of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP) functions and all item levels yielding the headline index. The food index, which is a major driver of the headline index, maintained its continued slow rise in July to 21.03 from 21.83 reported in the previous month.
The moderate numbers reported in July by the NBS was majorly driven by the food inflation sub-component which fell by 25 basis points from 1.11 percent recorded in June 2021. Similarly, the NBS disclosed that the increase resulted from increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, Milk, cheese and eggs, fish, soft drinks, vegetables, oils and fats and meat.
The core items, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 13.72 percent, up by 0.63 percent when compared with 13.09 percent recorded in June.
The NBS noted that the highest of increases during the month of July were recorded in prices of garments, passenger travel by air and by road, motor cars and vehicle spare parts, shoes and other footwear, pharmaceutical products, medical services, hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishments, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, furniture and furnishing and fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment.
A further analysis of the price movements from the NBS reports based on states profiles, shows that food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Kogi (28.51%), Enugu (24.57%) and Lagos (24.04%) states respectively. The price increases in the food prices were reported slowest in Akwa Ibom (17.85%), Bauchi (17.74%) and Abuja (16.67%).
