The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a metric gauging the fluctuations in prices of goods and services, surged to 24.08 percent in July 2023, marking an increase from the previous month’s 22.79 percent.
This recent figure signifies the seventh consecutive climb in the country’s inflation rate for the current year.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) documented this inflationary trend in its July 2023 CPI report, which was published on Tuesday.
Analyzing the data, TheCable Index revealed that this latest inflation rate is the highest seen in over a decade.
The last time Nigeria witnessed a 24 percent inflation level was in September 2005, when the rate stood at 24.3 percent.
As per the NBS report, the headline inflation rate reached 24.08 percent in July 2023, compared to the preceding month’s rate of 22.79 percent.
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“Examining the movement, the July 2023 headline inflation rate exhibited an increase of 1.29 percent points compared to the June 2023 headline inflation rate,” stated the NBS.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.44 percent points higher than the rate registered in July 2022, which was 19.64 percent. This indicates that the year-on-year headline inflation rate rose in July 2023 in contrast to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., July 2022).”
Looking at a month-on-month perspective, the NBS reported that the headline inflation rate in July 2023 was 2.89 percent, marking a 0.76 percent increase from June’s rate (2.13 percent).
Consequently, the average general price level for July 2023 was 0.76 percent higher on average compared to June 2023.
“The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve-month period ending July 2023, over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period, was 21.92 percent; indicating a 5.17 percent increase compared to the 16.75 percent recorded in July 2022,” the NBS added.
FOOD INFLATION AT 26.98 PERCENT DUE TO BREAD, YAM, AND EGGS
The report highlighted that the food inflation rate for July 2023 hit 26.98 percent on a year-on-year basis, marking a 4.97 percent increase compared to the rate in the same month the previous year.
The escalation in the food index was attributed to price hikes in oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fruits, meat, vegetables, milk, cheese, and eggs.
“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in July 2023 was 3.45 percent, which was 1.06 percent higher than the rate recorded in June 2023 (2.40 percent),” the report stated.
“The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve-month period ending July 2023 over the previous twelve-month average was 24.46 percent, marking a 5.71 percent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in July 2022 (18.75 percent).”
HIGHER FOOD PRICES IN LAGOS, ONDO, AND BAYELSA
The CPI is influenced by consumption spending patterns that vary across states and locations, making interstate comparisons of consumption baskets inadvisable.
However, the report revealed that residents of Lagos, Ondo, and Kogi paid more for food during the reviewed period.
“Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (34.53 percent), Lagos (32.52 percent), and Bayelsa (31.31 percent) in July 2023, while Jigawa (20.90 percent), Sokoto (21.63 percent), and Kebbi (22.45 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation,” according to the NBS.
“On a month-on-month basis, food inflation in July 2023 was highest in Kogi (6.73 percent), Akwa Ibom (5.64 percent), and Bayelsa (4.59 percent), while Taraba (-0.21 percent), Jigawa (0.28 percent), and Yobe (0.90 percent) recorded the slowest rise in inflation.”
