Nigeria's Inflation hits seven-month high at 11.44%

The consumer price index (CPI) which measures inflation, increased by 11.44 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2018; a 0.16 per cent increase from the 11.28 per cent recorded in November.



According to the December 2018 CPI/Inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released yesterday, all the divisions that contribute to the headline index increased.

This is the first time in seven months that inflation would reach such levels. The last time the index was this high was in May 2018 when it was 11.66 per cent.

The CPI measures the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living.

“The urban inflation rate increased by 11.73 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2018 from 11.61 per cent recorded in November 2018, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.18 per cent in December 2018 from 10.99 per cent in November 2018.

“On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.76 per cent in December 2018, down by 0.07 from 0.83 per cent recorded in November 2018, while the rural index also rose by 0.72 per cent in December 2018, down by 0.06 percent from the rate recorded in November 2018 (0.78) per cent,” the report read.

For the states, Bayelsa, Zamfara and Ekiti recorded the highest inflation rate while Cross River, Ogun and Kwara recorded the lowest increase in prices.

Food inflation was also highest in Abuja and Nasarawa while Ogun, Cross River and Oyo states.