A newly published report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed a decline in Nigeria’s headline inflation rate, which fell to 33.40% in July 2024 from 34.19% in June 2024.
This marks the first drop in the inflation rate since December 2022, when it last decreased to 21.34%.
According to the NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2024, the headline inflation rate decreased by 0.79 percentage points compared to June 2024.
Despite this decline, the year-on-year inflation rate for July 2024 was still 9.32 percentage points higher than the 24.08% recorded in July 2023.
The report noted, “In July 2024, the headline inflation rate eased to 33.40% relative to the June 2024 headline inflation rate of 34.19%. Looking at the movement, the July 2024 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.8 percentage points when compared to the June 2024 headline inflation rate.”
Urban Inflation
In July 2024, the Urban inflation rate was recorded at 35.77% on a year-on-year basis, which is 9.94 percentage points higher than the 25.83% recorded in July 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the Urban inflation rate stood at 2.46% in July 2024, slightly lower than the 2.46% recorded in June 2024. The corresponding twelve-month average for Urban inflation was 32.89% in July 2024, reflecting a 10.02 percentage point increase from the 22.87% recorded in July 2023.
Rural Inflation
The Rural inflation rate for July 2024 was 31.26% on a year-on-year basis, 8.77 percentage points higher than the 22.49% recorded in July 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the Rural inflation rate dropped to 2.10% in July 2024 from 2.17% in June 2024. The corresponding twelve-month average for Rural inflation in July 2024 was 28.86%, up by 7.82 percentage points from the 21.04% recorded in July 2023.
Food Inflation
The Food inflation rate in July 2024 reached 39.53% on a year-on-year basis, a significant increase of 12.55 percentage points from the 26.98% recorded in July 2023. The rise in food inflation was driven by increased prices of items such as Semovita, Yam Flour, Wheat Flour, Groundnut Oil, and Palm Oil, among others.
On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in July 2024 was 2.47%, reflecting a slight decrease from the 2.55% recorded in June 2024. The decline is attributed to a slower rate of price increases in items like Tin Milk, Fresh Fish, Date Palm fruit, and Garri.
The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending July 2024 was 36.36%, representing an 11.90 percentage point increase from the 24.46% recorded in July 2023.
This latest report by the NBS highlights the ongoing inflationary pressures in Nigeria’s economy, despite the slight reprieve observed in July 2024.