Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 34.6% in November 2024, up from 33.8% in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), published on Monday.

The report shows a 0.72% increase in the inflation rate compared to the previous month, highlighting ongoing economic pressure across the country.

The NBS also provided insights into the trend from the previous year, noting that inflation in December 2023 had reached 28.92%, marking a 0.72% Increase compared to the 28.20% recorded in November 2023.

“Looking at the movement, the December 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.72% points when compared to the November 2023 headline inflation rate,” the NBS stated.

When comparing year-on-year figures, the inflation rate for December 2023 was 7.58% higher than the same month in 2022, when it stood at 21.34%.

This reflects the continued upward trajectory of inflation over the past year. “This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in December 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., December 2022),” the NBS added.

On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in December 2023 stood at 2.29%, a slight increase of 0.20% compared to the 2.09% recorded in November 2023.

“This means that in December 2023, the rate of increase in the average price level was more than the rate of increase in the average price level in November 2023,” the NBS explained.

Food inflation, a key concern for many Nigerians, has risen sharply. In November 2024, the food inflation rate hit 39.93% year-on-year, a significant jump from the 32.84% recorded in November 2023.

The NBS attributed this increase to rising prices in essential items, including yam, water yam, cocoa yam, maize grains, rice, and various oils.

“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items: Yam, Water Yam, Coco Yam, etc. (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Guinea Corn, Maize Grains, Rice, etc. (Bread and Cereals Class), Beer, Pinto (Tobacco Class), and Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil, etc. (Oil and Fats Class),” the NBS report stated.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation also saw a slight increase, reaching 2.98% in November 2024, up from 2.94% in October. The NBS highlighted that the rise was driven by price increases in fish, rice, milk, and various meats.

“The rise is attributed to the rate of increase in the average prices of Mudfish, Catfish Dried, Dried Fish Sardine, etc. (Fish Class), Rice, Yam Flour, Millet Whole Grain, Corn Flour, etc. (Bread and Cereals Class), Agric Egg, Powdered Milk, Fresh Milk, etc. (Milk, Cheese and Eggs Class), and Dried Beef, Goat Meat, Frozen Chicken, etc. (Meat Class),” the bureau stated.

The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending November 2024 was 38.67%, up 11.58% from the previous year’s rate of 27.09%.

Regionally, food inflation varied significantly across Nigeria. Bauchi, Kebbi, and Anambra states saw the highest food inflation rates, with Bauchi at 46.21%, Kebbi at 42.41%, and Anambra at 40.48%. Conversely, Delta, Benue, and Katsina recorded the lowest rates, with food inflation at 26.47%, 28.98%, and 29.57%, respectively.

Month-on-month, the highest food inflation rates were seen in Yobe (5.14%), Kebbi (5.10%), and Anambra (4.88%), while the slowest increases were reported in Adamawa (0.95%), Osun (1.12%), and Kogi (1.29%). (AriseNews TV)