Inflation hits 16.47% — highest since April 2017

The consumer price index, which measures the rate of increase in the price of goods and services, increased to 16.47 percent in January.

This is the highest point since April 2017.

The CPI/Inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that food inflation has also crossed the 20 percent mark.

“The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 16.47 percent (year-on-year) in January 2021. This is 0.71 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in December 2020 (15.75 percent).

“The urban inflation rate increased by 17.03 percent (year-on-year) in January 2021 from 16.33 percent recorded in December 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 15.92 percent in January 2021 from 15.20 percent in December 2020.

“The composite food index rose by 20.57 percent in January 2021 compared to 19.56 percent in December 2020.”

According to the NBS, the upward movement in food inflation was caused by increases in the prices of bread, cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fruits, oils and fats, vegetables and fish.

Core inflation, which excludes the prices of agricultural items, stood at 11.85 percent in January 2021, up by 0.48 percentage points when compared with 11.37 percent recorded in December 2020.

On a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Kogi (26.64 percent), Oyo (23.69 percent) and River (23.49 percent), while Ondo (17.20 percent), Abuja (16.73 percent) and Bauchi (16.37 percent) recorded the slowest rise.