Nigeria''s inflation soars to 33.20% in March

Nigerian Observer Apr 16, 2024

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By Edward Oseghe

April 16, 2024

…driven by rising food, energy, housing, transport costs

Nigerias inflation rate rose to 33.20 per cent in March 2024 from 31.70 per cent in February 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its March Consumer Price Index and Inflation report released on Monday.

Notably, the March 2024 headline inflation rate increased by 1.50 per cent compared to the February 2024 headline inflation rate.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.16 per cent, higher than the 22.04 per cent recorded in March 2023.

This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in March 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year, that is, March 2023.

Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.02 per cent, which was 0.10 percent lower than the rate recorded in February 2024 (3.12 per cent).

The implication is that in March 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2024.

The NBS report further disclosed that the increase in food, non-alcoholic beverages, energy, housing costs, water, gas, fuel, clothing and footwear, and transport drove Marchs inflation rate.

The NBS said others were furnishings, household equipment and maintenance, education, health, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture, and communication.

In March 2024 alone, the food inflation rate reached 40.01 per cent year-on-year, marking an increase of 15.56 per cent points from 24.45 per cent in 2023.

The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis is caused by increases in prices of garri, millet, akpu (uncooked fermented, which are under bread and cereals class), yam tuber, and water yam.

Others are dried fish sardines, mudfish dried, palm oil, vegetable oil, beef feet, beef head, liver, coconut, watermelon, Lipton Tea, Bournvita, and Milo, the NBS said.

It said on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in March was 3.62 per cent, a 0.17 percent decrease compared to the rate recorded in February 2024 at 3.79 per cent.

The fall in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by a decrease in the average prices of Guinea corn flour, plantain flour, etc. (under bread and cereals class), yam, Irish potato, and cocoyam.

Others are Titus fish, Mudfish Dried, Lipton, Bournvita, and Ovaltine, it said.

The report said All items less farm produce and energy or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 25.90 per cent in March on a year-on-year basis.

This increased by 6.26 per cent compared to 19.63 per cent recorded in March 2023.

The exclusion of the PMS is due to the deregulation of the commodity by removal of subsidy, NBS said.

It said the highest increases were recorded in prices of bus journeys within the city, actual and imputed rentals for housing, consultation fees of a medical doctor, etc.

The report said on a year-on-year basis in March 2024, the rural inflation rate was 31.45 percent, which was 10.37 percent higher than the 21.09 percent recorded in March 2023.

On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate was 2.87 percent, which decreased by 0.20 percent compared to February 2024 at 3.07 per cent, it said.

The report, however, said that in March 2024, the monthly inflation rate for all items was highest in Zamfara State, at 3.90 per cent, followed by Abia State, at 3.89 per cent and Ondo State, at 3.75 per cent.

Borno at 1.46 per cent, followed by Yobe at 1.84 per cent and Adamawa at 1.85 per cent recorded the slowest rise in month-on-month inflation,” it said.

The report says on a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Kogi State, at 48.46 percent, followed by Kwara State, at 46.18 percent, and Akwa Ibom State, at 45.18 percent.

Nasarawa at 33.76 percent, followed by Borno at 34.28 percent and Bauchi at 34.38 percent, recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis, it said.

However, the report said on a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Abia State, at 5.17 per cent, Cross River State, at 5.14 per cent, and Bayelsa State, at 4.75 per cent.

Cross River stood at 1.59 percent, followed by Yobe at 2.08 percent and Adamawa at 2.12 percent, recorded the slowest rise in inflation on a month-on-month basis, it said.

This is the eighth time the inflation rate has risen since the commencement of President Bola Tinubus administration on May 29, 2023.

The inflation report by the NBS followed the hike of Nigerias interest rate from 22.75 per cent to 24.75 per cent by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

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The Nigerian Observer is a daily newspaper published in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, since 1968 by the Bendel Newspapers Company Limited (BNCL) and is owned by the Edo State Government

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