Nigeria’s Headline Inflation Jumps to 32.70% in September

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 32.70% in September 2024, up from 32.15% in August 2024, reflecting a 0.55% increase.

This was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation report for the month of September released on Tuesday

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.98% points higher than the 26.72% recorded in September 2023, indicating a significant rise in inflation over the past year.

The headline inflation rate for September 2024 was 2.52% month-on-month (MoM), 0.30% higher than the 2.22% recorded in August 2024. This suggests that the pace of price increases in September was faster than the previous month.

The report shows that food inflation surged to 37.77% YoY in September 2024, 7.13% points higher than the 30.64% recorded in September 2023.

This rise was driven by sharp increases in the prices of essential food items such as guinea corn, rice, maize, beans (bread and cereals), yam, cassava, beer (local and foreign), tea, coffee, and vegetable oils.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile items like agricultural produce and energy, stood at 27.43% YoY in September 2024, marking a 5.59% point increase from the 21.84% recorded in September 2023.

Analysts worry about the potential for inflation to remain elevated, given external factors such as exchange rate instability, rising fuel prices, and the continued pass-through effect on transportation and logistics costs.

These pressures could further fuel inflation in the months ahead, particularly if the naira weakens or global commodity prices rise.