By Dipo Olowookere
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, that inflation rate in Nigeria increased to 11.44 percent in the month of December 2018.
In its inflation report today, the stats office noted that the rate was 0.16 percent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2018, which stood at 11.28 percent, adding that increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the headline index.
The NBS said on month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.74 percent in December 2018, up by 0.06 percent points from the rate recorded in November 2018, 0.80 percent.
It explained that the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending December 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 12.10 percent, showing 0.31 percent point from 12.41 percent recorded in November 2018.
In addition, the urban inflation rate increased by 11.73 percent (year-on-year) in December 2018 from 11.61 percent recorded in November 2018, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.18 percent in December 2018 from 10.99 percent in November 2018.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.76 percent in December 2018, down by 0.07 from 0.83 percent recorded in November 2018, while the rural index also rose by 0.72 percent in December 2018, down by 0.06 percent from the rate recorded in November 2018, 0.78 percent, the NBS report said.
Furthermore, the corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 12.51 percent in December 2018, less than 12.83 percent reported in November 2018, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in December 2018 was 11.75 percent compared with 12.05 percent recorded in November 2018.
