Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Soars to 33.95% in May

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.95 percent in May 2024, according to the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.

This marks a 0.26% increase over the headline inflation rate for April 2024, according to the NBS Consumer Price Index report released on Saturday.

The data showed that the headline inflation rate was 11.54% higher year on year than in May 2023, when it was 22.41%.

This shows that the headline inflation rate (year on year) increased in May 2024 compared to May 2023.

On the contrary, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.14%, 0.15% lower than in April 2024 (2.29%).

According to the NBS, this suggests that the average price level will climb at a slower rate in May 2024 than it did in April 2024.

The NBS data also stated that the food inflation rate in May 2024 was 40.66% year on year, 15.84% higher than the rate in May 2023 (24.82%).

Food inflation increased year-on-year due to price increases in the following items: Semovita, Oatflake, Yam flour prepackage, Garri, Bean, etc. (under Bread and Cereals Class), Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam, etc. (under Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers Class), Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil, etc. (under Oil and Fat), Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish, etc. (under Fish Class), Beef Head, Chicken-live, Pork Head, Bush Meat, etc.
The month-on-month food inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.28%, which is 0.22% lower than the rate reported in April 2024 (2.50%).

“The decrease in food inflation on a monthly basis was caused by a decrease in the rate of increase in the average prices of Palm Oil, Groundnut Oil (under Oil and Fats Class), Yam, Irish Potatoe, Cassava Tuber (under Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Wine, Bournvita, Milo, and Nescafe (under Coffee, Tea, and Coco Class).
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending May 2024 over the preceding twelve-month average was 34.06%, representing a 10.41% increase over the average annual rate of change reported in May 2023 (23.65%).

In an effort to slow the rise in inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hiked interest rates by 150 basis points in May, from 24.75 percent to 26.25 percent.

The MPC voted to hike the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) for the third time in a row to rein in the country’s surging inflation levels, which are projected to reach 33.69% in April 2024.