By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Data released last month by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that inflation in the month of September 2017 declined to 15.98 percent from 16.01 percent in August, though food prices still remained high.
For the month of October 2017, which is due for release by the NBS later this month, precisely on Saturday, November 18, 2017, analysts at FSDH are predicting a marginal fall in the rate.
According to its Inflation Watch report released on Thursday, FSDH Research says it expects the inflation rate (year-on-year) to drop to 15.91 percent in October 2017 from 15.98 percent reported in the month of September 2017.
It explained that the expected marginal decline in the inflation rate is premised on slower increase in the food and non-food divisions, compared with the previous month.
FSDH Research said the monthly Food Price Index (FPI) released on Thursday by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed that the Index averaged 176.4 points, 1.26 percent lower than the revised value for September 2017, but 2.45 percent higher than the October 2016 figure.
According to the FAO, all categories of commodities used in the calculation of the Index dropped in value with the exception of cereal.
The FAO Dairy Index fell by 4.19 percent from September 2017 as the prices of butter, skim milk powder (SMP) and whole milk powder (WMP) eased in October.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index was down by 1.06 percent. This was as a result of abundant inventory levels of soy and palm oil in Malaysia, Southeast Asia and the United States of America coupled with a favourable outlook for global supply in 2017/18.
The FAO Meat Price Index was down by 0.9 percent as prices of ovine and pig meat declined due to reduced import demand. The FAO Sugar Price Index was down by 0.67% in October 2017 on the heels of reports on improved supply conditions in 2017/2018 in the main sugar producing region of Brazil.
Also, a weaker Brazilian Real and the slowdown in demand from China weighed down on the value of the Index.
On the flip side, the FAO Cereal Price Index was up by 0.65 percent in October 2017 as a result of the increase in the prices of rice and maize. Increased competition amongst exporters and sufficient supplies weighed on the prices of wheat.
FSDH said its analysis indicates that the value of the Naira depreciated at the inter-bank market, while it appreciated at the parallel market. The Naira lost by 0.02% at the inter-bank market to close at $/N305.80 while it gained 0.83 percent at the parallel market to close at $/N362.50 at the end of October.
The Naira appreciation in the parallel market and the drop in the prices of food at the international market led to a drop in the prices of some consumer goods in Nigeria.
The prices of most of the food items we monitored in October 2017 moderated downwards, while a few items recorded price appreciation. The movement in the prices of food items during the month resulted in 0.85 percent increase in our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index to 256 points.
“Our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index increased by 20.24 percent from 212.90 points in October 2016. We also noticed increase in the prices of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels divisions between September 2017 and October 2017.
“Our model indicates that the general price movement in the consumer goods and services in October 2017 increased the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) to 243.04 points, representing a month-on-month increase of 0.77 percent.
“We estimate that the increase in the CCPI in October 2017 would produce an inflation rate of 15.91 percent marginally lower than the 15.98 percent recorded in September 2017, the firm said.
Adedapo Adesanya