The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a rise in the headline inflation rate, which increased year-on-year (YoY) by 1.8 percentage points to 31.7 per cent in February 2024 from 29.9 per cent in January 2024.
This information was disclosed in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for February 2024.
Food inflation also increased to 37.92 per cent during the same period, up from 35.41 in January 2024. The NBS highlighted the significant increase in the headline inflation rate in February 2024 compared to the previous month.
On a YoY basis, the inflation rate in February 2024 was 9.79 percentage points higher than in February 2023. This indicates a notable increase in inflation compared to the same month in the preceding year.
Furthermore, on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the headline inflation rate in February 2024 was 3.12 per cent, which was 0.48 per cent higher than the rate recorded in January 2024. This suggests a faster rate of increase in the average price level in February compared to January 2024.
The rise in food inflation yearly was attributed to the prices of various food items, including bread and cereals, potatoes, yams and other tubers, fish, oil and fat, meat, fruit, coffee, tea, and cocoa.
On a MoM basis, food inflation in February 2024 was 3.79 per cent, 0.58 per cent higher than the rate recorded in January 2024. The report also highlighted the variation in food inflation across different states, with Kogi, Rivers, and Kwara recording the highest food inflation rates on a YoY basis. In contrast, Bauchi, Plateau, and Taraba recorded the slowest rise.
