Nigeria’s Inflation Decreases to 11.26% in October

• Nigeria’s Inflation Decreases to 11.26% in October

Nigeria’s consumer prices decreased for the first time in three months in October despite signs of price pressure.

The Consumer Price Index decreased from 11.28 percent filed in September to 11.26 percent in October.

On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.74 percent in October 2018, a 0.09 percent lower than 0.83 percent recorded in September.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items, climbed from 9.8 percent year-on-year in September to 9.9 percent.

On a monthly basis, core inflation rose by 0.80 percent in the month of October, higher than the 0.64 percent of September.

The food index rose to 15.36 percent year-on-year in October, down from the 15.92 percent recorded in September.

Despite the projected increase in price pressure ahead of the national election and the implementation of 2018 budget, prices declined for the first time in three months. Indicating the effectiveness of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s forex intervention program and the reason for the falling foreign reserves.

The foreign reserves dropped from $47 billion to about $42 billion in recent months and expected to drop even further with the falling oil prices amid stagnant oil production.

Therefore, investors and businesses are uncertain if the CBN would be able to sustain forex intervention with rising capital outflows and a drop in capital importation due to growing uncertainty.