Inflation Climbs To 29.9% Amid High Food Prices
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for January, revealing that the rate of change in prices of goods and services increased to 29.9 percent.
This is a rise from the previous month’s rate of 28.92 percent.
Additionally, the report showed that food inflation spiked to 35.5 percent in January 2024.
According to the bureau, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 increased by 0.98% points compared to the rate in December 2023.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82%,” the report reads.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in January 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., January 2023).
“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 2.64%, which was 0.35% higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.29%).”
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average price level in January 2024 increased at a higher rate compared to December 2023.
The NBS report also revealed that the food inflation rate in January 2024 was 35.41 percent on a year-on-year basis, which is 11.1 percent points higher than the rate recorded in January 2023 (24.32 percent).
The bureau attributed the rise in food inflation to increases in the prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, and fruit.
“On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in January 2024 was 3.21%, this was 0.49% higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.72%),” the report said.
“The rise in the Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis was caused by a rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers, Bread and Cereals, Fish, Meat, Tobacco, and Vegetable.
“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending January 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 28.91%, which was a 7.38% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in January 2023(21.53%).
According to the report, Kogi, Kwara, and Rivers states had higher food expenses in January.
“In January 2024, Food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis was highest in Kogi (44.18%), Kwara (40.87%), and Rivers (40.08%),” the NBS said.
Bauchi, Adamawa, and Kano had the slowest increase in food inflation compared to other states. Bauchi recorded a rise of 28.83 percent, Adamawa had 29.80 percent, and Kano had 30.08 percent on a year-on-year basis.
