The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation rose to 12.26 percent (year-on-year) in March 2020. This is 0.06 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in February 2020 (12.20) per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the NBS, the lock down in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States and various major disruptions in normal economic activity in several States since then, started in April 2020 and accordingly would not have any major impact on March 2020 Inflation which this report focusses on.
It stated that the increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.
Month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.84 per cent in March 2020. This is 0.05 per cent higher than the rate recorded in February 2020 (0.79 per cent).
Also, the closure of land borders in the country in August has been a major driving force for the upward trend of the inflation rate of the country since September 2019. The closure affected the availability of rice, vegetable oil, frozen food and other staple food of Nigerians, causing prices of the commodities to be on the increase.
The latest spike is also linked to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. “The lockdown in Abuja. Lagos and Ogun States and various major disruptions in normal economic activity in several States since then started in April 2020 and accordingly would not have any major impact on March 2020 Inflation which this report focuses on,” NBS said.
The composite food index rose by 14.98 per cent in March 2020 compared to 14.90 per cent in February 2020.
