Nigeria's Inflation Hits 33.20% in March 2024 - NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported Monday that Nigeria's annual inflation rate rose to 33.20% in March from 31.70% in February.

According to the statistics office, the headline inflation rate for March 2024 rose by 1.50% compared to February 2024.

The headline inflation rate was 11.16% points higher annually than in March 2023, when it was 22.04 percentage points, according to the NBS.

"This shows that the headline inflation rate (on a year-on-year basis) increased in March 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., March 2023)," it said.

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In addition, the NBS reported that month over month, the headline inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.02%, which was 0.10% less than in February 2024.

According to the statement, the average price level increased slower in March 2024 than in February 2024.

The report states that the food inflation rate in March 2024 increased annually to 40.01%, 15.56% points higher than in March 2023.

It was reported that food costs have increased recently in Nigeria. However, the effects of government initiatives, like eliminating petrol subsidies, among others, worsened the situation.

The rising cost of these necessities and other goods has reduced many citizens' purchasing power, making it harder for many households in the nation to pay for daily meals.

According to the NBS's inflation report released on Monday, the divisional year-over-year increases in the headline index are primarily due to the following items: food and non-alcoholic beverages (17.20%); housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuel (5.56%); clothing & footwear (2.54%); and transportation (2.16%).

The remaining categories are: restaurant & hotel (0.40%); alcoholic beverage, tobacco & kola (0.36%); recreation & culture (0.23%); furnishings & household equipment & maintenance (1.67%); education (1.31%); health (1.00%); and communication (0.23%).

The average CPI for the 12 months ending in March 2024 changed by 27.13% from the average of the previous 12 months, indicating a 6.76 percent increase from the 20.37% recorded in March 2023.

About Food inflation

In March 2024, the annual food inflation rate was 40.01%, which was 15.56% higher than the rate of 24.45% in the same month the previous year.

According to the bureau, the factors contributing to the annual increase in food inflation are the following: prices for garri, millet, fermented uncooked Akpu (classed under bread and cereals); yam tuber, water yam (classed under potatoes, yam, and other tubers); dried fish, sardine, and mudfish (classed under fish); palm oil, vegetable oil (classed under oil and fat); watermelon, coconut, and beef feet, head, and liver (under the meat class); Lipton tea, bournvita, and milo (classified under coffee, tea, and cocoa class).

"On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.62%, which shows a 0.17% decrease compared to the rate recorded in February 2024 (3.79%).

"The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending March 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 31.40%, which was 8.69% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in March 2023 (22.72%)," the report said.