Nigeria’s December Inflation Hits 28.92% – NBS Report
By Patience Ikpeme
Headline Inflation in Nigeria soared to 28.92% in December 2023, marking a significant increase compared to the previous month’s rate of 28.20%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This data, released on Monday, reveals a rise of 0.72% points.
The NBS explains that December 2023’s headline inflation rate showed an increase when compared to the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 7.58% higher than the rate recorded in December 2022, which stood at 21.34%.
Food inflation also experienced a substantial increase, reaching 33.93% on a year-on-year basis, which was 10.18% points higher than the rate recorded in December 2022. This rise in food inflation can be attributed to increases in the prices of staple foods such as bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, fruit, milk, cheese, and eggs.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in December 2023 registered at 2.72%, which was 0.30% higher than the rate recorded in November 2023. This increase was driven by a rise in the average prices of oil and fat, meat, bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, and milk, cheese, and eggs.
The NBS noted that the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending in December 2023 was 27.96%, marking a 7.02% increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in December 2022, which was 20.94%.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produces and energy, also experienced an increase in December 2023. It reached 23.06% on a year-on-year basis, up by 4.85% from the 18.21% recorded in December 2022.
The NBS highlighted that the highest increases in core inflation were recorded in prices of passenger transport by road, medical services, actual and imputed rentals for housing, passenger transport by air, pharmaceutical products, and accommodation services.
On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate in December 2023 was 1.82%, up by 0.29% compared to the rate recorded in November 2023. The average twelve-month annual inflation rate for the twelve months ending in December 2023 was 20.76%, which was 4.74% points higher than the rate recorded in December 2022.
Inflation pressures varied from state to state in Nigeria. Kogi state recorded the highest inflation figure of 35.58% for all food items, followed by Lagos state (32.33%) and Rivers state (32.16%). Conversely, Borno state (23.27%), Taraba state (24.92%), and Katsina state (26.52%) recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis.
On a month-on-month basis in December 2023, Bayelsa state recorded the highest increases in inflation at 3.66%, followed by Bauchi state (3.51%) and Oyo state (3.45%). Meanwhile, Nasarawa state (1.36%), Delta state (1.49%), and Sokoto state (1.58%) recorded the slowest rise in inflation on a month-on-month basis.
Food inflation on a year-on-year basis in December 2023 was highest in Kogi state (44.73%), Kwara state (41.33%), and Imo state (39.54%). Conversely, Bauchi state (27.49%), Jigawa state (27.98%), and Sokoto state (28.72%) observed the slowest rise in food inflation.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Bayelsa state (4.42%), Ogun state (4.11%), and Enugu state (4.03%). Conversely, Nasarawa state (1.48%), Delta state (1.65%), and Niger state (1.67%) experienced the slowest rise in inflation.
