On Tuesday 16th of January 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Nigeria’s inflation rate for the month of December 2017. According to the data released inflation rate dropped to 15.37 percent amidst fuel scarcity in the country.
Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the measure of inflation, dropped 0.53 percentage points from 15.90 percent recorded in November 2017 to 15.37 percent in December 2017. This is Nigeria’s lowest since 2016.
The Food Index increased by 0.88 percent (year-on-year) in December, up 19.42 percent points from 20.30 percent recorded in November. This rise was driven by an increase in the prices of bread, cereals, coffee, tea, cocoa, fish, Milk, Cheese, eggs, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oil and fats.
According to the report released by NBS, the index for all Items less Farm Produce or Core sub-index during the month of December stood at 12.10 percent points down from 12.20 percent recorded in November.
The highest increases were recorded in prices of Fuel and lubricants for personal transport equipment, solid fuels, passenger transport by air, clothing materials and other articles of clothing, Vehicle spare parts, nondurable goods, furniture and furnishing, carpet and other floor coverings, shoes and other footwear, bicycles and motorcycles, hospital services and glassware, table and household utensils and appliances.
How the states fared
At the state level inflation was highes in Bauchi (21.92 percent), followed by Nasarawa (18.16 percent) and Kebbi (18.67 percent), while Kogi (10.03 percent), Delta States (12.61 percent) and Benue (13.35 percent) recorded the slowest rise in headline Year on Year inflation.
During the period, food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Kwara (24.46 percent), Nasarawa (22.77 percent) and Yobe (22.60 percent), while Kogi (11.14 percent), Bauchi (14.18 percent) and Benue (15.04 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation.
