Nigeria’s inflation rose sharply to 15.6 per cent in May compared to 13.7 per cent in April, a report by the National Bureau of Statistics released on Tuesday has stated.
This sharp jump which was last recorded in 2010, according to the NBS is as a result of the overall increase in the general price level across the economy, as all divisions which contribute to the CPI rose at a faster pace in May.
In the report, electricity rates and other energy prices continued to manifest as key drivers of the core component of the CPI, adding that imported food as well as a drawdown of inventories across the country continued to push food prices higher as the food sub index increased by 14.9 per cent in May, up by 1.7 per cent in April.
The report also stated that passenger transport by road, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment and vehicle spare parts recorded the highest increases in the CPI figures for May.
Similarly, urban inflation increased by 0.8 per cent to 3.0 per cent in May from 2.2 per cent in April, while the rural index increased by about 1.1 per cent to 2.4 per cent from 1.4 per cent in April.
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According to the NBS, “Increased prices of both domestic and imported food products continue to drive food prices higher. The index increased by 14.9 per cent (year-on-year) during the month of May, 1.7 per cent points higher from rates recorded in April.
“On a month-on-month basis, the highest price increases were recorded in the bread and cereals; vegetables, sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery groups. The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending in May 2016 over the previous twelve month average was 11.2 per cent, 0.4 per cent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in April.”
The NBS, however stated that the average monthly price paid by Nigerian households for a litre of petrol across the country dropped to N150.28/litre in May compared to N162.82/litre in April, the NBS revealed.
The official pump price of petrol stood at N145/litre, but figures provided showed that on the average, Nigerians bought petrol above the official rate in the period under review.