Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 32.70 percent in September 2024, compared to the August 2024 rate of 32.15 percent.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which released the data on Tuesday, stated that the September 2024 headline inflation rate rose by 0.55 percent compared to the August 2024 rate.
Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.98 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in September 2023, which was 26.72 percent.
According to the NBS, this indicates that the headline inflation rate (on a year-on-year basis) increased in September 2024 compared to the same month in the previous year—September 2023.
The increase recorded in the headline index for September 2024 was attributed to the rise in the average price of some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level compared to their prices in August 2024.
These increases affected several categories: Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (16.94 percent), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuel (5.47 percent), Clothing & Footwear (2.50 percent), Transport (2.13 percent), Furnishings & Household Equipment & Maintenance (1.64 percent), Education (1.29 percent), and Health (0.98 percent).
Other categories included Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.54 percent), Restaurants & Hotels (0.40 percent), Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco & Kola (0.36 percent), and Recreation & Culture and Communication, both at 0.22 percent.
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The month-on-month headline inflation rate in September 2024 stood at 2.52 percent, reflecting an average increase of 0.30 percent in the general price level relative to the August 2024 rate of 2.22 percent.
The percentage change in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the twelve months ending September 2024, compared to the average CPI for the previous twelve months, was 31.73 percent, showing an 8.83 percent increase compared to the 22.90 percent recorded in September 2023.
The NBS reported that the Food Sub-index inflation rate in September 2024 was 37.77 percent on a year-on-year basis, which is 7.13 percentage points higher than the 30.64 percent recorded in September 2023.
The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was driven by increases in prices of items such as Guinea Corn, Rice, Maize Grains, Beans (in the Bread and Cereals Class), Yam, Water Yam, Cassava Tuber (in the Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Beer (Local and Foreign, in the Tobacco Class), Lipton, Milo, Bournvita (in the Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class), and Vegetable Oil and Palm Oil (in the Oil & Fats Class).
“Similarly, the food inflation rate on a month-on-month basis in September 2024 was 2.64 percent, reflecting a 0.27 percent increase compared to the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.37 percent). The rise can be attributed to the increase in the average prices of Beer (Local and Foreign, in the Tobacco Class), Vegetable Oil, Groundnut Oil, Palm Oil (in the Oil & Fats Class), Beef, Gizzard, Dried Beef (in the Meat Class), Lipton, Milo, Bournvita (in the Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Class), and Milk, Egg (in the Milk, Cheese, and Eggs Class),” the NBS further stated.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending September 2024 was 37.53 percent, higher by 11.88 percentage points from the average annual rate of 25.65 percent recorded in September 2023.
The “All items less farm produce and energy,” or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural products and energy, stood at 27.43 percent in September 2024 on a year-on-year basis, up by 5.59 percent compared to the 21.84 percent recorded in September 2023.
The NBS noted that the highest increases were recorded in prices of items such as Rents (Actual and Imputed Rentals for the Housing Class), Bus Journey (intercity), Journey by motorcycle (under Passenger Transport by Road Class), and Accommodation Services, Laboratory Services, X-ray photography, Consultation Fees for medical doctors (under Medical Services Class).
On a month-on-month basis, the Core inflation rate stood at 2.10 percent in September 2024, a decrease of 0.17 percent compared to the 2.27 percent recorded in August 2024.
The average twelve-month annual inflation rate was 25.64 percent for the twelve months ending September 2024; this was 6.09 percentage points higher than the 19.55 percent recorded in September 2023.
The Urban consumers’ annual inflation rate in September 2024 on a year-on-year basis was 35.13 percent, indicating an increase of 6.46 percentage points compared to the 28.68 percent recorded in September 2023.
Similarly, the Urban month-on-month inflation rate increased to 2.67 percent in September 2024, showing a rise of 0.28 percent compared to the 2.39 percent recorded in August 2024.
The corresponding twelve-month average for the Urban inflation rate was 33.95 percent in September 2024; this was 9.84 percentage points higher than the 24.10 percent reported in September 2023.
Additionally, the rural areas’ headline inflation rate in September 2024 was 30.49 percent on a year-on-year basis; this was 5.55 percent higher than the 24.94 percent recorded in September 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in September 2024 was 2.39 percent, up by 0.33 percentage points compared to 2.06 percent in August 2024, while the corresponding twelve-month average for the rural inflation rate in September 2024 was 29.76 percent, which was 7.97 percent higher than the 21.79 percent recorded in September 2023.
“The analysis of the states’ profiles shows that the all-item index for September 2024, on a year-on-year basis, was highest in Bauchi (44.83 percent), Sokoto (38.74 percent), and Jigawa (38.39 percent), while Delta (26.35 percent), Benue (26.90 percent), and Katsina (27.71 percent) recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis.
“On the other hand, on a month-on-month basis, September 2024 recorded the highest increases in Sokoto (4.63 percent), Taraba (4.07 percent), and Anambra (3.74 percent), while Kwara (1.14 percent), Cross River (1.78 percent), and Lagos (1.82 percent) recorded the slowest rise in month-on-month inflation.
The analysis of the food index at state levels in September 2024, on a year-on-year basis, recorded the highest in Sokoto (50.47 percent), Gombe (44.09 percent), and Yobe (43.51 percent), while Kwara (32.45 percent), Rivers (32.80 percent), and Kogi (32.83 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis,” the NBS stated.
It added that “On the other hand, on a month-on-month basis, September 2024 food inflation was highest in Sokoto (5.94 percent), Taraba (5.76 percent), and Bayelsa (4.44 percent), while Kwara (0.88 percent), Cross River (1.29 percent), and Kogi (1.45 percent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation.”
