Nigeria’s inflation pace slows for 17th consecutive month to 11.23% in June, says NBS

The rate of inflation increases in Nigeria slowed for the 17th consecutive month by 37 basis points to 11.23 percent (year-on-year) in June 2018 from the 11.61 percent recorded in May 2018, according to Nigeria statistical agency, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“The consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, increased by 11.23 percent (year-on-year) in June 2018. This is 0.37 percent points less than the rate recorded in May 2018 (11.61%) and represents the seventeenth consecutive disinflation since January 2017,” the NBS stated in its CPI and Inflation Report for the month under review.

However, the headline index, which measures the total inflation within an economy, including commodities such as food and energy prices (e.g., oil and gas) that tend to be much more volatile and prone to inflationary spikes, increased month-on-month.

According to the NBS, increases were recorded in all classifications of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP) divisions that yield the headline index, adding that on a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.24 percent in June 2018, up by 0.15 percent points from the rate recorded in May 2018.

It said, the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending June 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 14.37 percent, showing 0.42 percent point lower than the 14.79 percent recorded in May 2018.

The report indicated that urban inflation rate eased by 11.68 percent (year-on-year) in June 2018 from 12.08 percent recorded in May 2018, while the rural inflation rate also eased 10.83 percent in June 2018 from 11.20 percent in May 2018.

On month-on-month basis, the urban index is said to have risen by 1.24 percent in June 2018, up by 0.14 from 1.10 percent recorded in May 2018, while the rural index also rose by 1.23 percent in June 2018, up by 0.15 percent from the rate recorded in May 2018(1.08) percent.

The corresponding twelve-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 14.71 percent in June 2018. This is less than the 15.10 percent reported in May 2018, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in June 2018 was 14.08 percent compared to 14.53 percent recorded in May 2018.