Nigeria's inflation rises to 15.70% as fuel scarcity affects prices

Nigeria’s consumer price inflation rose in February after recording a fall in January as the nation faces fuel shortages that have helped push prices higher.

The rate of price increase between February 2021 and February 2022 was 15.70 per cent, higher than 15.60 per cent recorded in January, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Tuesday.

The statistics office said the prices of goods and services, measured by the Consumer Price Index, fell 1.63 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in February 2021 (17.33 per cent).

According to the NBS, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oils and fats and fruit.

Nigeria has faced fuel shortages since February after importing substandard fuel, resulting in weeks of severe scarcity and long queues at filling stations. The shortage has seen transport cost rise, thereby affecting goods and commodities.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s inflation down in January – NBS

Prices are expected to rise further amid a global shortage made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Without functional refineries, Africa’s largest oil producer relies almost entirely on imported fuel

Nigeria’s inflation has been in double digits since 2016. The Central Bank of Nigeria, which says its target range is between six per cent and nine per cent, has for months maintained interest rate at 11.5 per cent in a bid to boost growth following recession in 2020.

The bank will meet next Tuesday to set benchmark interest rates.