Nigeria’s inflation rate has risen from 11.98 per cent in December 2019 to 12.13 per cent in January. The rate is 0.15 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2019 (11.98) per cent.
This is the highest rate recorded in the country since May 2018, which was 11.61 per cent, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report has shown.
According to the NBS report, month-on-month, inflation rose by 12.13 per cent in January, higher than the rate (11.98 per cent) recorded in December 2019 and 11.85 per cent in November 2019.
On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index rose by 0.99 per cent in January 2020, up by 0.02 per cent points from 0.97 per cent recorded in December 2019.
The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the 12-month period ending January 2020 was 13.86 per cent from December 2019 (13.74 per cent).
According to the report, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, meat, oils and fats, potatoes, yam and other tubers and fish.
The all items less farm produce or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, rose to 9.35 per cent in January 2020, up by 0.02 per cent when compared with 9.33 per cent recorded in December 2019.
On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased by 0.82 per cent in January 2020. This was up by 0.01 per cent when compared with 0.81 per cent recorded in December 2019.
The report showed that core inflation was driven by increase recorded in prices of hospital services, vehicle spare parts, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, shoes and other footwear, glassware, tableware and household utensil, hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishments, repair and hire of footwear, garments, as well as passenger transport by air.
Similarly, the urban inflation rate increased by 12.78 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2020 from 12.62 per cent recorded in December 2019 while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.54 per cent in January 2020 from 11.41 per cent recorded in December 2019.
