Fakoyejo Olalekan
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that the headline inflation rate in Nigeria rose to 22.22 per cent in April 2023, against the 22.04 per cent reported in March.
This was revealed in the NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Monday, which stated that Food inflation hit 24.61 per cent in April, up from 24.45 per cent recorded the previous month.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“On a year-on-year basis, in April 2023, the urban inflation rate was 23.39%, this was 6.05% points higher compared to the 17.35% recorded in April 2022.
“On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 2.05% in April 2023, this was 0.05% points higher compared to March 2023 (2.00%).
“The corresponding twelve months average for the urban inflation rate was 21.50% in April 2023. This was 4.49% points higher compared to the 17.01% reported in April 2022,” NBS wrote in the report.
The CPI further stated that: “The rural inflation rate in April 2023 was 21.14% on a year-on-year basis; this was 4.82% points higher compared to the 16.32% recorded in April 2022.
“On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in April 2023 was 1.78%, up slightly by 0.06% points compared to March 2023 (1.72%).
“The corresponding twelve months average for the rural inflation rate in April 2023 was 20.18%. This was 4.27% points higher compared to the 15.91% recorded in April 2022.”
On a year-on-year basis, the increase in food inflation was driven by a hike in prices of Oil and fat, Bread and cereals, Fish, Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, Fruits, Meat, Vegetable, and Spirits.
Similarly, the core inflation closed April at 20.14 per cent, surpassing the 14.18 per cent posted during the same period last year, due to an increase in prices of Gas, Passenger transport by Air, Liquid fuel, Vehicle spare parts, Fuels, and lubricants for personal transport equipment, amongst others.
“The “All items less farm produce” or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 20.14% in April 2023 on a year-on-year basis, up by 5.96% when compared to the 14.18% recorded in April 2022.
“The highest increases were recorded in prices of Gas, Passenger transport by Air, Liquid fuel, Vehicle spare parts, Fuels, and lubricants for personal transport equipment, Medical services, Passenger transport by road, etc.” the report reads.
