Nigeria’s inflation rate hits 18.17%, highest in four years

Inflation rate in Nigeria has continued its upward swing with the latest figure put at 18.17 per cent.

The National Bureau of Statistics, which released the details on Thursday, indicated that the consumer price index, measuring the rate of increase in the price of goods and services, rose to 18.17 per cent in March from the 17.33 per cent recorded in February.

The March 2021 inflation rate remains the highest in four years.

The NBS also stated that food inflation increased by 1.16 per cent on a year-on-year basis from 21.79 per cent in February to 22.95 per cent.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.56 per cent in March 2021.

This is 0.02 per cent higher than the rate recorded in February 2021 (1.54 per cent).

The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12-month period ending March 2021, over the average of the CPI for the previous period was 14.55 per cent, representing a 0.50 per cent increase over 14.05 per cent recorded in February 2021.

The statistics showed the urban inflation rate rose by 18.76 per cent (year-on-year) in March 2021 from 17.92 per cent recorded in February 2021.

The rural inflation rate, the NBS figures showed, increased by 17.60 per cent in March 2021 from 16.77 per cent in February 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.60 per cent in March 2021, up by 0.02 per cent compared to the rate recorded in February 2021, while the rural index also rose by 1.52 per cent in March 2021, up by 0.02 compared to the rate that was recorded in February 2021 (1.50 per cent).

The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 15.15 per cent in March 2021.

This is higher than 14.66 per cent reported in February 2021, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in March 2021 is 13.99 per cent compared to 13.48 per cent recorded in February 2021.