By Dipo Olowookere
Data released on Tuesday morning by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, moderated further to 12.48 percent year-on-year in April 2018.
According to the stats office, this represents 0.86 percent points less than the rate recorded in March 2018, which was 13.34 percent.
The NBS said in its report titled ‘CPI and Inflation Report April 2018’ that the inflation for last month was the 15th consecutive disinflation since January 2017.
Business Post gathered that increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yield the Headline Index.
On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.83 percent in April 2018, down by 0.01 percent points from the rate recorded in March 2018.
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve-month period ending April 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12-month period was 15.20 percent, showing 0.40 percent.
The Urban inflation rate eased by 12.89 percent (year-on-year) in April 2018 from 13.75 percent recorded in March, while the Rural inflation rate also eased by 12.13 percent in April 2018 from 12.99 percent in March.
On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.85 percent in April 2018, down by 0.01 from 0.86 percent recorded in March, while the rural index also rose by 0.82 percent in April 2018, recording no change from the figure obtained in March (0.82) percent.
The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 15.47 percent in April 2018. This is less than 15.87 percent reported in March, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in April 2018 is 14.95 percent compared to 15.34 percent recorded in March.
