Headline inflation in Nigeria rose to its highest in 37 months in December 2020, according to the latest consumer price index (CPI) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The agency’s January 15, 2021 report showed that the CPI increased by 15.75% (year-on-year) at the end of last year which was especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While this was 0.86% points higher than the 14.89% recorded in November 2020, the headline inflation only increased by 0.01% on a month-on-month basis, with 1.61% recorded.
Inflation has consistently increased in Nigeria for 16 straight months starting with Nigeria’s decision to close its land borders to stem the activities of smugglers, a decision that heavily impacted business with regional neighbours.
The borders were reopened late last year, with the government expressing satisfaction with the results, a position critics have dismissed.
Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims that Nigeria has attained sufficient food security, food inflation similarly rose to its highest in over three years as 19.56% (year-on-year) was recorded in December 2020.
The rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fruits, vegetable, fish and oils and fats.
The core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, also rose to 11.37% last month, according to the NBS report.
The CPI measures the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living.
10,534 respondents spread across the country usually provide price data for regularly priced market items of 740 goods and services.
