By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that Nigeria’s inflation rate decreased to 33.40 per cent in July 2024, 2024.
Nigeria’s inflation rate reduced from 34.19 per cent recorded in June 2024.
The NBS disclosed this via its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2024 released on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
This marks the first decline in the headline inflation rate since December 2022, when it last dropped to 21.34 per cent.
According to the NBS, the inflation rate decreased by 0.8 per cent in July 2024.
It said the headline inflation rate in July showed 0.3 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in June 2024.
It stated: “On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 9.32 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in July 2023, which was 24.08 per cent.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in July 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., July 2023).
“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in July 2024 was 2.28 per cent, which was 0.03 per cent lower than the rate recorded in June 2024 (2.31 per cent).
“This means that in July 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in June 2024.”
The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the July figure was 12.55 per cent points higher compared to the 26.98 per cent inflation rate recorded in July 2023.
The bureau revealed that the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of items, including Semovita, Yam Flour (Prepacked), Wheat Flour (Prepacked), Groundnut Oil, Palm Oil, Milo, Bournvita, and Ovaltine, among others.
“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in July 2024 was 2.47 per cent which shows a 0.08 per cent decrease compared to the rate recorded in June 2024 (2.55 per cent),” it said.