Nigeria’s inflation declines by 0.52 per cent in March – Statistics Bureau

The Consumer Price Index, CPI, which measures the rate of inflation in the country for a given period, recorded a marginal decrease in the month of March, 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, said in its latest CPI and Inflation Report.

The Bureau said the CPI for the month declined by 0.52 per cent points to 17.26 per cent from the 17.78 per cent recorded in February. On a month-on-month basis, the decline was by 1.42 per cent in February 2017 to about 1.72 per cent in March.

The CPI measures the average change in price of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living over time.

“The headline CPI is the second consecutive month of a decline on a year-on-year basis, representing the effects of stabilizing prices in already high food and non-food prices as well as favourable base effects over 2016 prices,” the Bureau said.

The Director General, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Yemi Kale, said the lowering trend in the CPI was also indicative of early effects of a strengthened Naira in the foreign exchange rate market.

Mr. Kale said price increases were recorded in all classification of individual consumption by purpose, COICOP, used to classify both individual consumption expenditure and actual individual consumption.

He said the major divisions responsible for accelerating the pace of the increase in the headline index were housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuel, education, food and alcoholic beverages, clothing and footware, and transportation services.

Details of the report showed that the food sub-index for the month rose by 2,21 per cent, from 1,99 per cent in February on a month-to-month basis.

On a year-on-year basis, the sector recorded a reduction from 18.53 per cent in the previous months to 18.44 per cent.

The highest increases in the food sector were in bread, cereals, milk, meat, potatoes, yams and other tubers as well as cheese and eggs, while the slowest increases were in soft drinks, coffee and tea and cocoa.

The report said the core-sub-index also rose by 1.32 per cent on month-on-month basis, from 1.10 per cent in February. The figure on a year-on-year basis was a reduction from 16 per cent in February to about 15.4 per cent.

The highest increases in the core-sub-index was dwelling, electricity, clothing materials and other articles of clothing, book and stationaries, liquid fuel, lubricants for personal transport equipment and solid fuels.

Similarly, the urban index for the month also rose by 1.76 per cent from 1.52 per cent in February, as against a reduction from 18.57 per cent to 18.27 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

The rural index showed an increase of 1.69 per cent, from 1.47 per cent in the previous month, against a reduction from 16.98 per cent to 16.47 per cent on year-on-year basis.