Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s headline inflation rose by 0.06 percent to 12.40 percent year-on-year in May 2020 for the 25th consecutive month.
According to a report released on Wednesday morning by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the inflation increased to its present level from 12.34 percent recorded in April 2020.
On a monthly basis, inflation went up 0.15 percent from 1.02 percent in April to 1.17 percent in May.
This was spurred by increase in food items like oil and fats, fish, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, vegetables, bread and cereals, and fruits during the month.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)/Inflation Report for May 2020, the statistical body showed that food inflation rose marginally by 0.01 percent to stand at 15.04 percent in May from 15.03 percent in the preceding month.
The Food Sub-Index rose to 1.42 percent in the month of May compared to 1.18 percent in April.
Core inflation also rose 0.04 percent in the month under review from 9.98 percent in April to 10.12 percent in May 2020.
While month-on-month, it dropped to 0.88 percent from 0.93 percent in April 2020.
In the month the federal government directed an ease in the lockdown earlier put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the NBS noted that highest increases were recorded in passenger waterways transport, motor cycles, passenger road transport, hairdressing salons/personal grooming establishment, paramedical services/hospital services, pharmaceutical products, personal transport equipment, medical service, repair of furniture among others.
The agency also disclosed in its report today that urban inflation index rose by 0.02 percent year-on-year to 13.03 percent in May from 13.01 percent in April, while rural inflation rose to 11.83 percent in the month from 11.73 percent in the preceding month.
Rural/Urban month-on-month figures showed that urban rose to 1.18 percent from 1.06 percent, while the rural inflation rose to 1.16 percent from 0.98 percent.
