NIGERIA’S inflation rate climbed by 13.22 percent in August, the highest increase since 2018, according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
The latest Consumer Price Index/Inflation report for August shows that the rate of inflation stood at 13.22 percent in August which was slightly higher than the 12.82 percent recorded in July.
Inflation measures the rate at which the prices of goods and services increase over a period of time.
According to the NBS, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, fruits, oils, and fats and vegetables.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 10.52 percent in August 2020, up by 0.42 percentage points when compared with 10.10 percent recorded in July 2020.
“The consumer price index, which measures inflation increased by 13.22 percent (year-on-year) in August 2020. This is 0.40 percent points higher than the rate recorded in July 2020 (12.82 percent).
“On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.34 percent in August 2020. This is 0.09 percent higher than the rate recorded in July 2020 (1.25 percent),” the report stated.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, fruits, oils and fats and vegetables,” it added.
The composite food index rose by 16 percent in August, compared to 15.48 percent in July, according to the statistics bureau office.
The highest increments were recorded in the prices of passenger transport by air, hospital services, medical services, pharmaceutical products, maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, vehicle spare parts, Motor cars, passenger transport by road, miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling, repair of furniture and paramedical services.
On a year-on-year basis, the rate of increase in the prices was recorded in Kogi (17.29 percent), Bauchi (15.77 percent) and Ebonyi and Yobe (14.71 percent), while Lagos (11.45 percent), Kwara (11.22 percent), and Abuja (11.17 percent) recorded the slowest rise in headline year-on-year inflation.
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.