Prices continue to soar as NBS says inflation dropped in Nov

The inflation rate in Nigeria fell in November to 15.40 per cent (year-on-year), the lowest since December last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS, in its Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday, said the inflation rate fell by 0.59 per cent from 15.99 per cent in October.

The drop in headline inflation began in April when it fell to 18.12 per cent from 18.17 per cent in March.

The NBS said on a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.08 per cent in November, which is 0.10 per cent higher than the rate recorded in October.

“The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending November 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 16.98 per cent, showing 0.02 per cent point from 16.96 per cent recorded in October 2021,” it said.

It said urban inflation rate increased by 15.92 per cent (year-on-year) in November from 15.47 per cent  in November 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 14.89 per cent in November 2021 from 14.33 per cent in November 2020.

The rural index also rose by 1.04 per cent in November, compared to 0.95 per cent in October.

The NBS disclosed that composite food index rose by 17.21 per cent in November 2020, compared to 18.30 per cent in November 2020.

It noted that the rise in the food index was driven by increases in prices of bread and cereals, fish, food products such as potatoes, yam and other tuber, oil and fats, milk, cheese and eggs and coffee, tea and cocoa.

A Senior Lecturer of Economics at the Pan Atlantic University, Dr Olalekan Aworinde, said, “When you talk about inflation, you mean the constant increase in the prices of goods and services. Now with this new CPI report, we have to look deeper at the composition of the inflation rate. These declining figures do not mean that prices of goods are not increasing, but it is increasing at a decreasing rate.

“This means that the rate at which the prices increase in this year, is not proportionate to the increase recorded last year.”

The Managing Director of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, “When we are seeing a declining inflation rate, it is positive; so we have reasons to say at least the situation is improving – but a double-digit inflation is still quite high.”