Lagos among States with least inflation rates in May

Lagos state is among states of the federation with the least inflation rate for the month of May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics has shown.

According to the NBS data the state with the lowest inflation rate in Nigeria is Kogi State, with inflation rate as low as 5.3%. Interestingly, Benue State which is just right beside it, has an inflation rate of 13.9%.

Bayelsa State was the next least state with about 11.7% inflation rate, while Imo, Abia and Lagos State are next with 13.3%, 13.7% and 13.8% respectively.

Bauchi State led other states of the federation with an inflation rate of 21.9% for the month of May 2017.

The state was however 26th in Food Inflation at 17.42% which suggest it’s problem is not the cost of food but other items such as transportation, health, communication and other issues that you can find in core inflation.

Sokoto was second with inflation rate of 20.5 per cent, while Ebonyi was third with 20.3 per cent and Nasarawa with 19.8 per cent.

In terms of food inflation, Nasarawa State came tops as the state with the highest food inflation rate (25.19%). Interestingly war ravaged Borno State has an inflation rate of 16.20% and food inflation rate of 17.16%.

Recall that the NBS on Thursday released its monthly inflation report which shows that inflation in the country dropped to 16.25 per cent in May from 17.24 per cent a month ago.

This shows that prices of items in the basket of goods selected for compiling the Consumer Price Index for the month made about 1.25 points recovery away from the 15 per cent target of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

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According to the NBS report, inflation dropped from 17.24 per cent in April to 16.25 per cent in May with the highest increases recorded in food, solid and liquid fuels, clothing, fish and wines. “The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation increased by 16.25 per cent (year-on-year) in May 2017. This was 0.99 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in April (17.24 per cent). This represents the fourth consecutive decline in the rate of inflation since January 2017,” the report said.

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“On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.88 per cent in May 2017, 0.28 per cent points higher than the rate of 1.60 per cent recorded in April 2017 indicating the existence of persistent pressure on prices despite the general decline in year-on-year inflation. Month-on-month inflation cumulatively rose by 7.7 per cent since January 2017.