It added: “Looking at the movement, the January 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.98% points when compared to the December 2023 headline inflation rate. Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82%.”
Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 2.64 per cent, which was 0.35 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.29 percent).
This, according to the agency, means that in January 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level was greater than the rate of increase in the average price level in December 2023.
The NBS stated that the food inflation, on a year-on-year basis was 35.41%, 11.10% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023 (24.32%).
The food inflation rate in January 2024 was 35.41 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 11.1 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023 (24.32%).
It said: “The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oil and fat, fish, meat, fruit, coffee, tea, and cocoa.
“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in January 2024 was 3.21%; this was 0.49 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.72 per cent).
“Inflationary pressures are expected to decline in 2024 due to the CBN’s inflationary targeting policy aiming to rein in inflation to 21.4 per cent, aided by improved agricultural productivity and easy global supply chain pressures,” the CBN governor Yemi Cardoso said when he met with lawmakers last week.
“The Nigerian foreign exchange market is currently facing increased demand pressures causing a continuous decrease in the value of naira.”
The NBS added that the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending January 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 28.91 per cent which was a 7.38 percentage point increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in January 2023 (21.53%).
The report further added: “In January 2024, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (44.18 per cent), Kwara (40.87 per cent), and Rivers (40.08 per cent), while Bauchi (28.83 per cent), Adamawa (29.8 per cent) and Kano (30.08 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.”