The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 33.95 per cent in May 2024.

The NBS made this known via its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for May released on Saturday, June 15, 2024.

According to the report, the figure is 0.26 per cent points higher compared to the 33.69 per cent recorded in April 2024.

The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 was 11.54 per cent higher than the rate recorded in May 2023 at 22.41 per cent.

It stated that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.14 per cent, which was 0.15 per cent lower than the rate recorded in April 2024 at 2.29 per cent.

“This means that in May 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in April 2024,” the bureau said.

The NBS said the increase in the headline index for May 2024 on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis was attributed to the increase in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level.

It stated the increases were observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel, clothing and footwear, and transport.

Nigeria’s inflation rate hits 33.69%

Others were furnishings, household equipment and maintenance, education, health, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, alcoholic beverage, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture, and communication.

The NBS said the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending May 2024 over the average of the CPI for the previous corresponding 12-month period was 29.06 per cent.

“This indicates a 7.86 per cent increase compared to 21.20 per cent recorded in May 2023,” the NBS added.

The bureau said the food inflation rate in May 2024 increased to 40.66 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.84 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023 at 24.82 per cent.

It noted: “The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis is caused by increases in prices of semovita, oatflake, yam flour prepackage, garri, and beans.

“Others are Irish potatoes, yam, water yam, palm oil, vegetable oil, stockfish, mudfish, crayfish, beef head, chicken-live, pork head, and bush meat.”

The bureau said on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in May was 2.28 per cent, which was a 0.22 per cent decrease compared to the rate recorded in April 2024 at 2.50 per cent.

The NBS added: “The fall in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by a decrease in the average prices of palm oil, groundnut oil, yam, Irish potato, and cassava tuber.

“Others are wine, Bournvita, Milo, and Nescafe.”

The Star