The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 27.33 percent in October 2023.
The NBS disclosed this in its October Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report, which was released in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the report, the figure, which is 0.61 percent, is higher compared to 26.72 percent recorded in September 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in October was 6.24 percent higher than the rate recorded in October 2022 at 21.09 percent.
The report said the increase in the headline index for October 2023 on a year-on-year basis was attributed to the increase in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level. It said these increases were observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages at 14.16 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 4.57 percent.
Others were clothing and footwear at 2.09 percent, transport at 1.78 percent, furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance at 1.37 percent, education at 1.08 percent, and health at 0.82 percent.
Miscellaneous goods and services at 0.45 percent, restaurants and hotels at 0.33 percent, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and kola at 0.30 percent, recreation and culture at 0.19 percent, and communication at 0.19 percent, NBS reported.
In addition, the report said, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in October 2023 was 1.73 percent, which was 0.37 percent lower than the rate recorded in September 2023 at 2.10 percent. In October 2023, the rate of increase in the average price level was less than the rate of increase in the average price level in September 2023.
The NBS noted that the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending October 2023 over the average for the previous corresponding 12-month period was 23.44 percent, indicating a 5.57 percent increase compared to 17.86 percent recorded in October 2022. The report said the food inflation rate in October increased to 31.52 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 7.80 percent higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2022 at 23.72 percent.
Increases in prices of oil and fats, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yams, and other tubers, fruits, meat, vegetables, milk, cheese, and eggs cause the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis, according to the latest report.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in October was 1.91 percent, a 0.54 percent drop compared to the rate recorded in September 2023 at 2.45 percent, stated NBS.
The report added that a decrease in the average prices of fruits, oils, and fats, coffee, tea, cocoa, bread, and cereals caused the decline in food inflation month-on-month.
It said all items less farm produce and energy, or core inflation, which excluded the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 22.58 percent in October on a year-on-year basis, increasing by 5.12 percent compared to 17.46 percent recorded in October 2022.
The report stressed that the exclusion of petrol was due to the deregulation of the commodity through the removal of subsidies. NBS said the highest increases were recorded in prices of passenger transport by road, medical services, passenger transport by air, actual and imputed rentals for housing, pharmaceutical products, etc.
The NBS said the core inflation rate was 1.39 percent in October 2023 on a month-on-month basis, indicating a 0.83 percent drop compared to what was recorded in September 2023 at 2.22 percent.
Also Read: Nigeria’s Inflation Hits 26.72% in September
The average 12-month annual inflation rate was 19.98 percent for the 12 months ending October 2023. This was 4.60 percentage points higher than the 15.38 percent recorded in October 2022. The report said on a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate was 29.29 percent in October, which was 7.66 percent higher compared to the 21.63 percent recorded in October 2022.
(NAN)
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