Onome Amuge
The continued depreciation of the naira and rising food and fuel prices has led to a tenth consecutive surge in Nigeria’s inflation rate which increased from 26.72 per cent in September 2023 to 27.33 per cent in October 2023,according to the latest figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate in October 2023 was 6.24 per cent higher than the rate in October 2022. This indicates that the inflation rate has increased significantly over the past year, amid a variety of factors, such as currency depreciation, rising food and fuel prices, and other economic factors.
The month-on-month inflation rate, which measures the change in prices from one month to the next, was 1.73 per cent in October 2023, compared to 2.10 per cent in September 2023. This means that prices increased at a slower rate in October than they did in September, which could be an indication that inflation is starting to level off.
The 12-month average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2023 showed an increase of 5.57 per cent compared to the 12-month average CPI for October 2022. This indicates that the overall cost of living has increased by 5.57 per cent over the past year, on average.
Food inflation in October 2023 was 31.52% higher than in October 2022, and was driven by increases in the prices of staples like bread, cereals, and potatoes, as well as other food items like fish, fruit, meat, and dairy products.
Meanwhile, the month-on-month food inflation rate decreased by 0.54% in October 2023 compared to September 2023, driven by decreases in the average prices of fruits, oil and fat, coffee, tea, and cocoa, as well as bread and cereals. This means that the increase in food prices from September to October was not as steep as it was from August to September.
The average annual food inflation rate over the past 12 months was 26.33 per cent, which represents an increase of 6.50 per cent points compared to the average annual rate of 19.83 per cent recorded in October 2022.
The “all items less farm produces and energy” index, also known as core inflation, excludes the prices of volatile agricultural products and energy. This index rose to 22.58 per cent in October 2023, compared to 17.46 per centin October 2022. The index was impacted by increases in the prices of transport, medical services, air travel, housing rentals, and pharmaceutical products.
The month-on-month core inflation rate in October 2023 was 1.39 per cent, which represents a decrease of 0.83 per cent from the 2.22 per cent rate in September 2023. On the other hand, the average annual core inflation rate over the past 12 months ending in October 2023 was 19.98 per cent, which represents an increase of 4.60 per cent from the 15.38 per cent recorded for the 12 months ending October 2022.
In October 2023, the urban inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was 29.29 per cent, which is 7.66 per cent higher than the rate in October 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 1.81 per cent, which was lower than the 2.24 per cent rate in September 2023. The average urban inflation rate over the past 12 months was 24.76 per cent, which is 6.38 per cent higher than the rate in October 2022.
The rural inflation rate in October 2023 was 25.58 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 5.01 per cent higher than the same time last year. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in October 2023 was 1.67 per cent, which was lower than the 1.96 per cent rate in September 2023. The average rural inflation rate over the past 12 months was 22.23 per cent, which is 4.85 per cent higher than October 2022.
