Nigeria’s inflation soars to 32.70% as hardship worsens

Nigeria's inflation

Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 32.70 percent in September 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

The rise in the inflation rate from 32.15 recorded in August is coming amid the hike in the pump price of petrol which has further aggravated the cost of living crisis.

The development is contained in NBS Consumer Price Index and Inflation report for September 2024.

According to the report, the September 2024 headline inflation rate saw an increase of 0.55 percent compared to the August 2024 headline inflation rate.

On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.98 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2023 (26.72 percent).

This indicated that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in September 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (September 2023).

Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September 2024 was 2.52 percent, which was 0.30 percent higher than the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.22 percent).

“This means that in September 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in August 2024,” the report stated.

Similarly, food inflation rose to 37.77 percent in September from 37.52 in August, 2024.

The latest rise in inflation figure is coming amid the price of petrol increase on September 3rd and 16th by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.

Recall that NNPCL increased fuel price to N897 per liter in September 2024 from N600 per liter.

The increase in the price of petrol has a ripple effect on the economy as the already crippling cost of living crisis worsens owing to direct impact on transportation fares and by extension the prices of goods and services across the country.

The September spike in headline inflation comes after the country recorded a decline in July and August 2024.

The Central Bank of Nigeria in its September 297th Monetary Policy Meeting raised the country’s interest rate by 50 basis points to 27.25 percent in a move to tackle inflation

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