Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 14.23 per cent year-on-year in October 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics has disclosed.
According to NBS in the ‘Consumer Price Index October 2020’ report released on Monday, the country’s inflationary pressure increased by 0.52 per cent points higher than 13.71 per cent rate recorded in September 2020.
The data indicated that increases were recorded in all the functional classifications that yielded the index.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation increased by 1.54 per cent in October higher than 1.48 per cent recorded in September.
Further analysis showed that the urban inflation rate increased to 14.81 per cent year-on-year in the review month from 14.31 per cent recorded in the preceding month, while the rural inflation rate increased to 13.68 per cent from 13.14 per cent in the comparing months.
The composite food index rose by 17.38 per cent in October compared to 16.66 per cent in September, the data also showed.
According to NBS, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread, cereals, potatoes, yam (other tubers), meat, fish, fruits, vegetable, alcoholic and food beverages and oils and fats.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 11.14 per cent in review month, up by 0.56 per cent when compared with 10.58 per cent recorded in the preceding month.
NBS stated, “The highest increases were recorded in prices of passenger transport by air, hospital and medical services, passenger transport by road, pharmaceutical products, motor cars, vehicle spare parts, Maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, hair-dressing salons and personal grooming establishments, miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling, paramedical services and shoes and other footwear.”
Further, the data revealed that all items inflation on year-on-year basis was highest in Zamfara State by 17.69 per cent and lower in Cross River State by 10.50 per cent, adding that food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Edo State by 21.65 per cent and lowest in Ondo State by 14.23 per cent, in the review month.
