Nigeria’s inflation rate has continued to soar, accelerating to 18.60% in June according to the latest Consumer Price Index report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the CPI report which was seen by Business Insider Africa, the inflation rate increased by 1.82% month-on-month, jumping past the 17.71% that was reported in May.
“In June 2022, the inflation rate increased to 18.60 percent on a year-on-year basis. This is 0.84 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2021, which is 17.75 percent. This means that the headline inflation rate increased in the month of June 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year (i.e., June 2021). Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index,” said a part of the report.
The report further revealed that food inflation accelerated to 20.6% in June 2022 from 19.5% in May 2022. The jump was due mainly to increases in the prices of different staples and essential food items.
“The composite food index rose to 20.60 percent in June 2022 on a year-on-year basis; the rate of changes in average price level declined by 1.23 percent compared to 21.83 percent in June 2021. The rate of changes in food prices compared to the same period last year was higher due to higher foods prices volatility caused by COVID 19. This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Food products Potatoes, yam, and other tubers, Meat, Fish, Oil and fat, and Wine.”
Urban inflation also rose to 19.09% in June, marking a 0.74% increase when compared to 18.35% that was recorded in June 2021. Similarly, rural inflation rose to 18.13% in June, marking a 0.97% increase compared to 17.16% recorded in June 2021.
Like most African countries, Nigeria has been grappling with an inflation problem that keeps getting worse, exacerbated by many unfavorable internal and external factors. Some of these factors include the ongoing war in Ukraine and the forex crisis. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that these factors are pushing many African countries to the brink of economic collapse.
Source: africabusinessinsider.com