By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s inflation hit its highest point in five and a half years as the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, surged to 18.6 per cent in June 2022.
This is up from 17.71 per cent in the previous month of May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its CPI report for June 2022 released on Friday, July 15, 2022.
This is the highest jump in the metric since January 2017 and it is also 0.84 per cent points higher than in June 2021, which was 17.75 per cent.
According to the report, increases were recorded in all classifications of individual consumption according to purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index.
“On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate increased to 1.82 per cent in June 2022, this is 0.03 per cent higher than the rate recorded in May 2022 (1.78 per cent),” the report read.
“The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months ending June 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period is 16.54 per cent, showing a 0.62 per cent increase compared to 15.93 per cent recorded in June 2021.”
The report added that food inflation rose to 20.60 per cent in June 2022 on a year-on-year basis but the rate of changes in average price level declined by 1.23 per cent when compared to 21.83 per cent in June 2021.
The report further explained that the rate of changes in food prices compared to the same period last year was higher due to higher foods prices volatility caused by COVID 19.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Food products n.e.c, Potatoes, yam, and other tubers, Meat, Fish, Oil and fat, and wine,” it added.
“On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 2.05 per cent in June 2022, up by 0.03 per cent points from 2.01 per cent recorded in May 2022.”
In analysing price movements for states, the report said Bauchi and Kogi States were the highest.
“In June 2022, all items inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bauchi (21.99 per cent), Kogi (21.37 per cent), Ebonyi (20.73 per cent) while Adamawa (16.14 per cent), Sokoto (16.31 per cent) and Jigawa (16.37 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in headline Year-on-Year inflation,” it said.
“On a month-on-month basis, however, June 2022, recorded the highest increases in Kogi (2.69 per cent), Ondo (2.65 per cent), and Kaduna (2.61 per cent), while Adamawa (-0.26 per cent), Abuja (-.0.03 per cent) and Sokoto (0.79 per cent) recorded the slowest rise on month-on-month inflation.”
