Inflation rate hits 17.33% — highest in four years

The consumer price index, which measures the rate of increase in the price of goods and services, increased to 17.33 percent in February.

This is the highest point since April 2017.

According to the CPI/Inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, the food inflation stood at 21.79 percent, the highest point since the 2009 data series began.

According to the NBS, food inflation also grew by 21.79 percent year-on-year compared to 20.57 percent recorded in January.

The headline inflation for month-on-month also increased to 1.89 percent from 1.83 percentage points.

It explained that the upward movement in food inflation was caused by increases in the prices of bread, cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, vegetables, meat, oils and fats, fruits and food products.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes the prices of agricultural items, increased to 12.38 percent in February compared to 11.85 percent in January 2021.