Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 31.70 per cent in February 2024, according to The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
This was reported by the NBS said in its Consumer Price Index, CPI, and Inflation Report for February, which was released on Friday in Abuja.
The figure is 1.80 per cent points higher compared to the 29.90 per cent recorded in January 2024.
Compared to the rate recorded 12-months earlier on a year-on-year basis, inflation rate in February 2024 was 9.79 per cent higher than the rate recorded in February 2023 at 21.91 per cent.
Revealing further, the report said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in February 2024 was 3.12 per cent, which was 0.48 per cent higher than the rate recorded in January 2024 at 2.64 per cent.
“This means that in February 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in January 2024.,” said the report.
The increase in the headline index for February 2024 on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis was linked to the increase in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level.
The increases were observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas, fuel, clothing and footwear, and transport.
Others were furnishings, household equipment and maintenance, education, health, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, alcoholic beverage, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture, and communication.
The report claimed that the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending February 2024 over the average of the CPI for the previous corresponding 12-month period was 26.18 per cent.
“This indicates a 6.31 per cent increase compared to 19.87 per cent recorded in February 2023.”
In the same vein, the report revealed that the food inflation rate in February 2024 increased to 37.92 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 23.57 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in February 2023 at 24.35 per cent.
“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis is caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, oil and fat, meat, fruit, coffee, tea, and cocoa.’’
However, on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in February was 3.79 per cent, which was a 0.58 per cent increase compared to the rate recorded in January 2024 at 3.21 per cent.
“The rise in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by an increase in the average prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, coffee, tea, and cocoa.’’