Nigeria’s headline inflation rate has risen to 15.36 per cent in December 2021, after an eight month period of consecutive decline from April to November 2021.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that the positive trend was broken in December 2021 when the inflation rose by 0.23 points to 16.63 per cent, from 15.50 per cent recorded in November.
Unless there is a reverse in the next few months, the rise in inflation could affect the federal government’s inflation target for 2022.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had during her presentation of the 2022 approved budget, disclosed that the federal government projects an inflation rate of 13 per cent in its key projections and assumptions for the 2022 budget.
The Statistician-general of the Federation, Simon Harry, had at a press briefing in Abuja, however, said the development was a decline compared to the corresponding month in 2020, which recorded 15.75 per cent.
According to him, the change in the declining trend might have been caused by the increase in prices of goods and services driven by increased demand during the month under review (December), which was a festive season.
On a month-on-month basis, he said the headline index increased by 1.82 per cent in December, 0.74 per cent higher than the rate recorded in November, which was 1.08 per cent.
The urban inflation rate increased to 16.17 per cent (year-on-year) in December from 16.33 per cent recorded in December 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased to 15.11 per cent in December, from 15.20 per cent recorded in December 2020, which was lower by 0.09 per cent points.
Harry further stated that the composite food sub-index rose to 17.37 per cent in December, which was lower by 2.19 per cent points when compared to 19.56 per cent recorded in December, 2020.
The statistician-general attributed the rise in the food sub-index to increases in prices of bread and cereals, meat, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, soft drinks, and fruit.
“On month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 2.19 per cent in December, 2021, higher by 1.12 per cent points from 1.07 per cent recorded in November, 2021,” he added.
He further stated that core inflation which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 13.87 per cent in December, 2021, which was higher by 2.50 per cent when compared with 11.37 per cent recorded in December, 2020.
On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased to 1.12 per cent in December, 2021. This was lower by 0.13 per cent when compared with 1.26 per cent recorded in November, 2021.
According to the bureau, the highest increases were recorded in prices of “gas, liquid fuel, wine, actual and imputed rentals for housing, narcotics, tobacco, spirit, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, garments, Shoes and other footwear and clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories.”
It would be recalled that the World Bank had disclosed that Nigeria might have one of the highest inflation rates globally in 2022, and also projected that the country would have the seventh highest inflation rate among Sub-Saharan African countries in 2022.
