Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Moderates For The 3rd Consecutive Month In 2021

Nigeria’s inflation rate moderated by 0.18 percent to 17.75 percent in the month of June compared to the 17.93 percent recorded in the previous month.

Gatekeepers News reports that on month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.06 percent in June 2021. This is 0.05 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in May 2021 (1.01 percent).

Food inflation dropped to 21.83 percent in June 2021 compared to 22.28 percent in May 2021. This indicated that food prices continue to rise in June 2021, but at a slightly slower rate than May 2021.

This was driven by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Potatoes, yam, and other tubers, Milk, Cheese and Eggs, Fish, Soft drinks, Vegetables, Oils and fats, and Meat.

On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 1.11 percent in June 2021, up by 0.06 percent points from 1.05 percent recorded in May 2021.

“In June 2021, food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Kogi (30.34%), Enugu (25.18%) and Kwara (24.78%), while Bauchi (18.97%), River (18.92%) and Abuja (17.09%) recorded the slowest rise in year on year inflation,” the report said

“On month on month basis however, June 2021 food inflation was highest in Jigawa (2.67%), Edo (2.43) and Cross River (2.16%), while Lagos (0.14%), Borno (0.06%) and Kwara (0.02% recorded the slowest rise in
food inflation.”

The ‘Consumer Price Index Report for June’, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Friday, also disclosed that the urban inflation rate increased by 18.35 percent (year-on-year) in June 2021 from 18.51 percent recorded in May 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased by 17.16 percent in June 2021 from 17.36 percent in May 2021.

Gatekeepers News reports that Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 13.09 percent in June 2021, down by 0.06 percent when compared with 13.15 percent recorded in May 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased by 0.81 percent in June 2021. This was down by 0.43 percent when compared with 1.24 percent recorded in May 2021.

The highest increases were recorded in prices of Garments, Passenger travel by air and by road, Motor cars, and Vehicle spare parts, shoes and other footwear, Pharmaceutical products, Medical services, Hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishments, Cleaning, repair, and hire of clothing, Clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, Furniture and furnishing and Fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipments.