Inflation now 1.28% points lower than FG’s 2018 projection

Data made available by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that year-on-year inflation dropped to 11.14% in July; 1.28% points beneath the federal government’s projection.

In the 2018-2020 Medium Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy paper, the federal government had projected that inflation would moderate at 12.42%.

According to the bureau, the figure is 0.09% points less than the 11.23% recorded in June. The bureau said the figure showed 18 consecutive reductions in inflation rate since January 2017.

The report showed that increases were recorded in all the classification of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.

On a month-on-month basis, NBS said the headline index increased by 1.13%in July, down by 0.11% points from the rate recorded in June.

According to the bureau, the drop was the first month-on-month headline inflation decline since February 2018.

Food inflation dropped to 12.85% in July 2018 from 12.98% in June, core inflation also dropped to 10.2% in July 2018 from 10.4% in June.

In June 2018, the sharpest increases were recorded in the prices of Potatoes, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, fish, oils and fats, milk, cheese and eggs, vegetables, fruits and meat.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has already expressed hopes that inflation would hit single digit.