Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 32.70% in September 2024, up from 32.15% in August, reflecting a month-on-month increase of 0.55%.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that this uptick was driven by rising transportation costs and food prices, exacerbated by recent petrol price hikes from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited earlier in September.
On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate marks a significant increase of 5.98 percentage points from the 26.72% recorded in September 2023, highlighting ongoing economic pressures and a challenging environment for consumers.
Additionally, on a month-on-month basis, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate for September 2024 was 2.52%, up 0.30% from the 2.22% recorded in August.
This increase signifies that the average price level rose at a faster rate in September compared to the previous month.
In September 2024, the food inflation rate reached 37.77% year-on-year, an increase of 7.13 percentage points from the 30.64% recorded in September 2023.
In September 2024, the month-on-month food inflation rate was 2.64%, reflecting a 0.27% increase from the 2.37% recorded in August.
This rise can be attributed to higher prices for various items, including both local and foreign beer, vegetable oils, groundnut oil, palm oil, as well as beef, gizzard, and dried beef.
Additionally, products like Lipton, Milo, and Bournvita also saw price increases.
For the twelve months ending in September 2024, the average annual food inflation rate was 37.53%, representing an 11.88 percentage point increase from the 25.65% recorded in September 2023.
Core inflation in September which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy prices, reached 27.43% year-on-year, marking an increase of 5.59 percentage points from 21.84% in September 2023.
The most significant price increases were observed in areas such as rent (including actual and imputed rentals for housing), intercity bus journeys, taxi fares, and meals at local restaurants. On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate stood at 2.10%, a decrease of 0.17% from the 2.27% recorded in August 2024.
