By Aduragbemi Omiyale
There seems not to be an end to the rising inflation in Nigeria, as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday announced that the average cost of goods and services increased by 21.09 per cent in October 2022. In the previous month, September 2022, the inflation rate was 20.77 per cent, and when compared with October 2021, it rose by 5.09 per cent, as it was 15.99 per cent in the same period last year.
The stats office said the percentage change in the average consumer price index (CPI) for the 12 months ending October 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 17.86 per cent, showing a 0.91 per cent increase compared to the 16.96 per cent recorded in October 2021.
In the report released this afternoon, which was analysed by Business Post, the NBS said inflation could have worsened last month as a result of a disruption in the supply of food products, an increase in the cost of importation due to the persistent currency depreciation, and a general rise in the cost of production like increase in energy cost.
It noted that over the past three months, there had been a decline in headline inflation on a month-on-month basis due to a decline in the changes in the food index relative to the reference month index, which could be triggered by the present harvesting season.
According to the report, the food inflation rate in October 2022 was 23.72 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 5.39 per cent higher than the 18.34 per cent recorded in October 2021.
This was attributed to increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products n.e.c, potatoes, yams and other tubers, oil and fat.
It said on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in October was 1.23 per cent, lower than the 1.43 per cent achieved in September 2022 by 0.21 per cent.
This decline was attributed to the reduction in prices of some food items like tubers, palm oil, maize, beans, and vegetables.
It was disclosed that the average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending October 2022 was
19.83 per cent, which was a 0.92 per cent points decline from the 20.75 per cent average annual rate of change recorded in October 2021.
The NBS also said on a year-on-year basis, in October 2022, the urban inflation rate was 21.63 per cent compared with the 16.52 per cent recorded in October 2021, while the rural inflation rate was 20.57 per cent in the period under review, in contrast to the 15.48 per cent reported in the same period of last year.
Adedapo Adesanya