*NBS raises alarm, says inflation rate increased to 33.88% in October this year
*That figure represents 1.18% points higher compared to 32.70% in September
*Attributes increase to rise in prices of some items in basket of goods and services
*Data was contained in NBS’s Consumer Price Index, CPI, Inflation Report for October
By Our Correspondent with agency
Amidst economic hardship, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased 33.88 percent in October 2024.
The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for October 2024, which was released in Abuja on Friday explaining that the figure is 1.18 percent points higher compared to the 32.70 percent recorded in September 2024.
It said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in October 2024 was 6.55 percent higher than the rate recorded in October 2023 at 27.33%.
In addition, the report said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in October 2024 was 2.64 percent, which was 0.12 percent higher than the rate recorded in September 2024 at 2.52 percent.
“This means that in October 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level was higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in September 2024”, it said.
The report said the increase in the headline index for October 2024 on a year-on-year and month-on-month basis was attributed to the increase in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level.
It said these increases were observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel, clothing and footwear, transport and furnishings, household equipment and maintenance.
Others include education, health, and miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture, and communication.
It said the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending October 2024 over the average CPI for the previous 12 months was 32.26 percent.
“This indicates an 8.82 percent increase compared to 23.44 percent recorded in October 2023.”
The report said the food inflation rate in October 2024 increased to 39.16 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 7.64 percent higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2023 at 31.52 percent.
“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis is caused by increases in prices of guinea corn, rice, maize grains, beans, yam, water yam, and Coco Yam.
“Others are palm oil, vegetable oil, Lipton, Milo, and Bournvita, among others”, it added.
