Nigeria’s inflation rises to 15.63%

Rise in prices of food in the country has pushed Nigeria’s inflation upward by 0.23 percent points in one point, taking the headline inflation figure to 15.63 per cent in December 2021 above the 15.4 per cent that was recorded in the previous month.

The nation’s inflation has been on steady slop for an eight-month period starting from April last year.

Figures that were released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that increases were recorded in all classification of individual consumption according to Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.

The highest increases were recorded in prices of gas, liquid fuel, wine, actual and imputed rentals for housing, narcotics, tobacco, garments, shoes and other footwear and clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories.

The statistics office said on month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.82 percent in December 2021 — this is 0.74 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in November 2021 (1.08) per cent.

Core inflation, which excludes the prices of agricultural items, increased to 13.87 percent in December 2021 compared to 13.85 percent in November 2021.

The report that was published on the website of the NBS revealed that food inflation also increased to 17.37 percent in December from 17.21 percent in November.

“In December 2021, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (22.82%), Enugu (20.65 per cent) and Lagos (20.27 per cent), while Edo (13.24 per cent), Kaduna (13.53 per cent) and Sokoto (14.82 per cent) recorded the slowest rise,” the NBS said in the report that was released yesterday.