Macroeconomic Report & Economic Updates
May 3, 2016
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 18)
Inflation
rate continued its upward trajectory in the week under review. Specifically,
the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.39 per cent, from 11.38 per cent
in February to 12.77 per cent in March, 20161. Remarkably, this is the
highest rate since July 2012, representing a 4-year high. While both components
of the CPI rose in the period, the food sub-index was largely the main driver
of the increase in the CPI, with a growth rate of 1.39 per cent between
February and March. The persistent scarcity in petroleum products, especially
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), has increased transportation costs and the price of
food items.
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 3)
Recently released inflation rate report by the NBS shows a further decline in consumer price index in December 2017. At 15.37 percent, the CPI was 0.53 percentage points lower than the 15.90 percent recorded in November 2017. The food sub-index decreased to 19.42 percent from 20.21 percent, indicating reduced pressure on food prices in the review period. Core sub-index fell slightly to 12.1 percent from 12.21 percent in the preceding month. Going forward, the ability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to control inflation in 2018 may be hampered by monetary injections by the government and politicians towards budgetary expenditure and election campaigns, respectively.