Nigeria’s inflation rises in 12th consecutive month to 28.92% in December

Business a.m

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose for the twelfth consecutive month , with the headline inflation rate rising to 28.92 per cent in December 2023 from 28.20 per cent in November 2023,according to the latest consumer price index (CPI) report published by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Looking at the movement, the December 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.72 per centage points when compared to the November 2023 headline inflation rate.

The NBS report showed that the year-on-year increase in the headline inflation rate was 7.58 percentage points higher in December 2023 compared to December 2022, when the rate was 21.34 per cent. This shows that the headline inflation rate increased on a year-on-year basis in December 2023 compared to the same month in the previous year.

According to the report, the month-on-month increase in the headline inflation rate stood at 2.29 per cent in December 2023, an increase of 0.20 per cent when compared to 2.09 per cent recorded in October 2023. 

The NBS report showed that the percentage change in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the twelve months ending December 2023, relative to the average CPI for the previous twelve months ending November 2022, was 24.66 per cent. This represents an increase of 5.81 per cent compared to the figure recorded in December 2022, which was 18.85 per cent.

Food inflation rate for December 2023 stood at 33.93 per cent on a year-on-year basis, representing an increase of 10.18 per cent when compared to 23.75 per cent recorded in December 2022. The increase was attributed to increases in the prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yams and other tubers, fish, fruits, meat, cheese and egg.

In addition, the report showed that the food inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 2.72 per cent in December 2023, an increase of 0.30 per cent from 2.42 per cent recorded in November 2023. This increase was  attributed to a surge in the prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, meat, potatoes, yams and other tubers,fish,milk,cheese,and egg.

According to the NBS report, the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending in December 2023 was 27.96 per cent. This indicated 7.02 per cent increase over the average annual rate of 20.94 per cent recorded in December 2022.

The report also showed that the “All items less farm produces and energy” or core Inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, was 23.06 per cent in December 2023 on a year-on-year basis. This was an increase of 4.85 per cent compared to 18.21 per cent recorded in December 2022 . The report noted that the prices of passenger transport by road, medical services, passenger transport by air, actual and imputed rentals for housing, pharmaceutical products, accommodation services, among others had the highest increases.

The NBS report also disclosed that core inflation on a month-on-month basis was 1.82 per cent in  December 2023, which was 0.29 per cent higher than the 1.53 per cent recorded in November 2023. The average twelve-month annual inflation rate for the twelve months ending in  December 2023 was 20.76 per cent, which was 4.74 per cent higher than the 15.69 per cent recorded in December 2022.

Meanwhile, the urban inflation rate also increased year-on-year in the period under review, rising 8.98 percentage points to 31.00 per cent from 22.01 per cent recorded in December 2022.

On a month-on month basis, the urban inflation rate was 2.42 per cent in December 2023, this was 0.19 percentage  points higher compared to 2.23 per cent in November 2023. The corresponding twelve-month average for the urban inflation rate was 26.22 per cent in December 2023. This was 6.83 percentage points higher compared to the 19.38 per cent reported in December 2022. 

In a similar trajectory, the rural inflation rate in December 2023 rose to  27.10 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 6.38 per cent higher compared to the 20.72 per cent recorded in December 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in December 2023 was 2.17 per cent, up by 0.18 percentage points compared to 1.99 per cent in November 2023. The corresponding twelve-month average for the rural inflation rate in December 2023 was 23.25 per cent. This was 4.91 per cent higher compared to the 18.34 per cent recorded in December 2022.