In July 2024, the inflation rate (CPI) dropped to 33.40%, down from 34.19% in June 2024, marking a 0.8 percentage point decrease from the previous month. This decline also extended to food inflation, which fell to 39.53% from 40.87% recorded in June, indicating a 1.34 percentage point reduction. Urban inflation also saw a decrease, dropping to 35.77%, while rural inflation fell to 31.26%, representing month-on-month decreases of 0.87 and 1.83 percentage points, respectively. These trends highlight a broad-based easing of the inflationary pressures across the country’s different sectors and regions, providing a glimmer of relief after an extended period of rising prices.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decided during its 296th meeting to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 26.75%. This represents a 50 basis points increase from 26.25% in May 2024. This increment in MPR reflects the central bank's attempts to control inflation and stabilise the exchange rate through monetary tightening measures. With this new decision, the CBN has increased the MPR by 800 basis points since January 2024. In January, before the hike, the rate was 18.75%. The committee also resolved to keep the liquidity ratio at 30% and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for merchant and deposit money banks at 14% and 45%, respectively. Despite these steps to control inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June 2024 increased to 34.19% indicating that Nigeria's pricing levels are interest insensitive. This suggests that supply-side factors such as insecurity, high cost of energy, and currency depreciation are more responsible for Nigeria's rising inflation rates. Therefore, the CBN, in collaboration with the fiscal side of the government, should prioritise fixing these underlying structural challenges as the MPR has not effectively controlled inflation. Continuous increments in the MPR could have a detrimental effect on the economy through high borrowing costs

Youth unemployment in Africa is becoming increasingly worrisome. The International Labour Organisation (2023) estimates that over 72 million young people in Africa do not attend school, work, or receive any type of employment training. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 8 of providing decent work for all by 2030, African countries must develop measures to address youth unemployment and gender inequality. Many young people struggle with lack of decent jobs, widespread informal employment, therefore limiting their opportunities for economic stability and growth. Africa has the world’s largest youth population , with over 400 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35. This presents significant prospects to drive economic growth, create jobs, and increase productivity.

In June 2024, according to OPEC, Nigeria's oil production increased by 25,000 barrels per day (bpd), bringing the total output to 1.276 million bpd. This follows an earlier decrease in May 2024, when oil production fell by 30,000 bpd to 1.251 million bpd. Despite these gains, Nigeria's oil production remains below OPEC's 2024 quota of 1.38 million bpd and the Nigerian government's 2024 budget benchmark of 1.78 million bpd for the year. This suggests Nigeria is still not producing enough oil to meet its budgetary expectations. Ongoing issues such as crude oil theft, oil bunkering, illegal refining, and operational disruptions continue to hinder the country’s full production potential. The government must implement strict measures against oil bunkering and production disruptions to address these challenges and enhance production sustainability. Additionally, the government should encourage private participation in the oil sector, especially in oil infrastructure, to increase the refining capacity in the country and ensure transparency and efficiency in the sector. Efforts to increase oil production will bolster government fiscal space, which in turn, will enable the government to invest in infrastructure that would unlock new industries, thereby, reducing future dependence on oil for revenue and exchange earnings

The Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) Money and Credit Statistics reveal that money supply (M3) rose to N99.23 trillion in May 2024.This is a 2.3% (N2.26 trillion) month-on-month increase from N96.97 trillion recorded in April 2024 and a 78.1 percent (N43.54 trillion) year-on-year increase from N55.69 trillion recorded in May 2023. A 23% surge in net domestic assets from N68.24 trillion in April 2024 to N83.9 trillion in May 2024 is responsible for this increase. Net domestic assets also accounted for 84.5 percent of the total money supply. Although the increase in money supply is a strong stimulus to economic growth, it could limit the effectiveness of the central bank's efforts to curtail inflation through an increment in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). With an increase in the money supply, the purchasing power of consumers is eroded as the inflation rate persists and stands at 33.95% in May 2024. It is pertinent for the government to tame the rate of increase in money supply and implement policies that boost economic output. This can involve policies aimed at improving productivity, supporting key sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, and encouraging investments in infrastructure. In tandem with these, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should consider adopting tightening measures such as open market operations (OMO) while monitoring the net domestic assets (NDA) to ensure that they are within the desired limit