By MIKE ABBAH
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate slows down to 32.15% in August 2024 from the 33.40% recorded in July 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported today (Monday).
According to the NBS the drop reflects a decrease of 1.25 percentage points (month-to-month), against the rate in July, adding that the decline represents the second consecutive monthly slowdown in inflation after easing in the previous month.
However, on a year-on-year basis, the August 2024 inflation rate was 6.35 percentage points higher than the 25.80% rate recorded in August 2023, indicating a significant increase over the past year.
On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate in August 2024 stood at 2.22%, slightly lower than July’s rate of 2.28%, signaling a slower pace in the increase of the average price level compared to the previous month.
On food inflation which is the major driver of the rise in Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August 2024, the rate reached 37.52% on a year-on-year basis, marking an 8.18 percentage point increase compared to 29.34% recorded in August 2023.
However, on a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at 2.37%, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.10 percentage points from the 2.47% rate recorded in July 2024, which experts attribute to the emergence of the harvest season.
The NBS stated that the average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending in August 2024 was 36.99%, representing an 11.98 percentage point increase compared to the 25.01% average recorded in August 2023.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural products and energy, stood at 27.58% in August 2024 on a year-on-year basis, reflecting a 6.43 percentage point increase compared to the 21.15% recorded in August 2023.
The report noted that the highest increases in items under core inflation were witnessed in rents, intra-city bus and motorcycle journeys, accommodation service, laboratory service, X-ray photography, and consultation fee of a medical doctor
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation was 2.27% in August 2024, slightly up by 0.11 percentage points from 2.16% in July 2024.
The average annual core inflation rate for the twelve months ending August 2024 was 25.18%, which represents a 6-percentage point rise from the 19.18% recorded in August 2023.
In August 2024, the urban inflation rate reached 34.58% on a year-on-year basis, representing an increase of 6.89 percentage points compared to the 27.69% recorded in August 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, urban inflation stood at 2.39%, down by 0.07 percentage points from July’s 2.46%.
Meanwhile, the rural inflation rate in August 2024 was 29.95% year-on-year, which is 5.85 percentage points higher than the 24.10% recorded in August 2023. On a month-on-month basis, rural inflation decreased slightly to 2.06%, down by 0.04 percentage points from July 2024’s 2.10%.
Economic experts predict a resumption of inflation increase in the coming months following the recent hike in petrol approved by the Nigerian Government.
