Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 33.88% in October, marking the highest level this year. Key drivers include rising food prices and transportation costs, prompting concerns over the nation’s economic stability.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 33.88% in October 2024, compared to 32.7% in September of the same year, marking a month-on-month increase of 1.18 percentage points.
This information was included in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which was released on Friday.
The Bureau linked the inflation increase to elevated transportation expenses and rising food prices.
Compared to the previous year, the headline inflation rate was 6.55 percentage points higher than the October 2023 figure of 27.33%.
This suggests that the headline inflation rate rose in October 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year.
The NBS also reported that the headline inflation rate for October 2024 was 2.64%, marking a month-on-month increase of 0.12% from September’s rate of 2.52%.
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This indicates that in October 2024, the average price level rose at a faster rate compared to September 2024.
Inflation in food prices
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the food inflation rate for October 2024 was 39.16% year-on-year, marking an increase of 7.64 percentage points from the October 2023 figure of 31.52%.
The year-on-year increase in food inflation has been linked to price hikes in several items, including Guinea Corn, Rice (mentioned twice), and Maize Grains under the Bread and Cereals category; Yam, Water Yam, Coco Yam within the Potatoes, Yams & Other Tubers category; Palm Oil and Vegetable Oil listed under Oils and Fats class; as well as Milo Lipton.
Bournvita, etc. (Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Category)
The food inflation rate in October 2024 increased to 2.94% month-on-month, marking a rise of 0.30% from the September 2024 rate of 2.64%.
The increase can be linked to the rising average prices of Palm Oil, Vegetable oil, and other items in the Oils & Fats category; Mudfish, Croaker (Apo), Fresh fish (Obokun) within the Fish category; Dried Beef, Goat Meat, Mutton, Skin meat from the Meat category; as well as Bread and Cereals like Guinea Corn flour, Plantain flour, Rice.
The average yearly food inflation rate for the twelve months ending in October 2024 was 38.12%. This represents an increase of 11.79 percentage points compared to the previous year’s annual rate, which stood at 26.33% as recorded in October 2023.
