Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Hits Record 20.52% in August 2022

Prices of goods and services rose to a record-high in Africa’s largest economy Nigeria in the month of August, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the inflation rate, grew at a 20.52% year-on-year rate in August, the fastest pace of increase in the last 17 years. This represents a 3.52% increase from 17.01% recorded in the same month in 2021.

On a monthly basis, inflation grew at a 1.77% rate, 0.05% slower than the 1.82% recorded in the month of July.

The statistics office attributed the persistent increase in the annual inflation rate to the disruption of food supplies and other food products.

Also, the surge in import cost due to Naira depreciation against global counterparts and the general increase in the cost of production were highlighted as one of the key factors impacting prices in recent months.

Explaining factors responsible for the slight improvement in the monthly numbers, NBS said the decrease in prices in August compared to July was due to harvest season. Availability of fuel also helped cool escalating prices from the side of transportation.

Nigeria’s Food Inflation for August 2022

As expected, food inflation increased at a faster pace of 23.12% year-on-year, representing a 2.82% increase when compared to the 20.30% filed in August 2021.

“This rise in the food inflation was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Food product n.e.c, Potatoes, yam and other tuber, fish, meat, oil and fat,” NBS stated.

In the month of August, food inflation expanded by 1.98%, 0.07% slower than the 2.04% recorded in July 2022.

Using the more accurate twelve-month gauge, the annual rate of food inflation for the twelve-month period ending August 2022 over the previous twelve-month average was 19.02%, which was a 1.48% decline from the average annual rate of 20.50% recorded in August 2021.