DESPITE the appreciation of the Naira against the United States (US) Dollar, Nigeria’s inflation rate remains as high as 33.20 per cent in March, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja on Monday, April 15.
The NBS said in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for March, the figure is 1.50 per cent points higher, compared to the 31.70 per cent recorded in February this year.
It said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in March this year was 11.16 per cent higher than the rate recorded in March 2023 at 22.04 per cent.
On month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March was 3.02 per cent, which was 0.10 per cent lower than the rate recorded in February at 3.12 per cent, adding: “This means that in March 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2024.”
The report attributed the increase in the headline index for March 2024 on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis to increase in some goods and services at the divisional level, as observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel, clothing and footwear and transport.
Others include furnishings, household equipment and maintenance, education, health, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, alcoholic beverage, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture and communication.
NBS said the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending March 2024 over the average of the CPI for the previous corresponding 12-month period was 27.13 per cent, indicating a 6.76 per cent increase compared to 20.37 per cent recorded in March 2023.
The report said the food inflation rate in March 2024 increased to 40.01 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.56 per cent higher, compared to the rate recorded in March 2023 at 24.45 per cent.
The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis, it noted, was caused by increases in prices of garri, millet, akpu (uncooked fermented cassava, which are under bread and cereals class), yam tuber and water yam, as well as dried fish sardine, mud fish dried, palm oil, vegetable oil, beef feet, beef head, liver, coconut, water melon, Lipton Tea, Bournvita and Milo.
It said on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in March was 3.62 per cent, which was a 0.17 per cent decrease, compared to the rate recorded in February 2024 at 3.79 per cent.
“The fall in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by a decrease in the average prices of guinea corn flour, plantain flour, etc (under bread and cereals class), yam, Irish potato, cocoyam, Titus fish, mud fish dried, Lipton, Bournvita and Ovaltine.
The report said “all items less farm produce and energy” or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 25.90 per cent in March on a year-on-year basis.
NBS said ‘this increased by 6.26 per cent, compared to 19.63 per cent recorded in March 2023. The exclusion of the PMS is due to the deregulation of the commodity by removal of subsidy.”
It stressed that the highest increases were recorded in prices of bus journey within the city, actual and imputed rentals for housing, consultation fee of a medical doctor, etc., noting that on a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 2.54 per cent in March 2024.
“This indicates a 0.37 per cent increase, compared to what was recorded in February 2024 at 2.17 per cent.”
“The average 12-month annual inflation rate was 22.26 per cent for the 12 months ending March 2024, this was 5.04 per cent points higher than the 17.22 per cent recorded in March 2023,” it said.
The report said on a year-on-year basis in March this year, the urban inflation rate was 35.18 per cent, 12.11 per cent higher, compared to the 23.07 per cent recorded in March last year, while on a year-on-year basis in March this year, the rural inflation rate was 31.45 per cent, which was 10.37 per cent higher, compared to the 21.09 per cent recorded in March last year, just as on a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate was 2.87 per cent, which decreased by 0.20 per cent, compared to February this year at 3.07 per cent.
On states’ profile analysis, the report showed that in March, all items inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi at 39.97 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 38.34 per cent and Kwara at 38.10 per cent.
It, however, said the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis was recorded in Borno at 25.78 per cent, Benue and Taraba at 28.12 per cent and Katsina at 28.32 per cent.
The report, however, said in March this year, all items inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was highest in Zamfara at 3.90 per cent, Abia at 3.89 per cent and Ondo at 3.75 per cent, while month-on-month, Borno witnessed slowest rise in inflation at 1.46 per cent, followed by Yobe at 1.84 per cent and Adamawa at 1.85 per cent.
The report also explained that on a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Kogi at 48.46 per cent, followed by Kwara at 46.18 per cent and Akwa Ibom at 45.18 per cent, noting: “Nasarawa at 33.76 per cent, Borno at 34.28 per cent and Bauchi at 34.38 per cent recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.”
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Abia at 5.17 per cent, Cross River at 5.14 per cent and Bayelsa at 4.75 per cent, while Cross River stood at 1.59 per cent, followed by Yobe at 2.08 per cent and Adamawa at 2.12 per cent as the slowest rise in inflation on a month-on-month basis.
