Nigerian annual inflation drops in July as food prices escalate

Annual inflation in Nigeria slowed for a sixth month in July, easing to 16.05 percent, but the rise in food inflation was the biggest in eight years, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

The rate of annual inflation was 0.05 percent lower than in June. A separate food price index showed inflation rose to 20.28 percent in July, up from 19.91 percent in June, the biggest year-on-year increase since 2009, the statistics office said.

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“The rise in the index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, meat, fish, oils and fats, coffee, tea and cocoa, potatoes yam and other tubers and vegetables,” the report said.

Nigeria – which has Africa’s biggest economy – is in its second year of recession and is contending with a currency crisis and dollar shortages brought on by low oil prices.