Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, rose slightly to 8.0 per cent (year-on-year) in December compared to 7.9 per cent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced.
The agency said the 0.1 per cent increase in the headline index followed a rise in prices “on the back of increases in eight of the eleven non-food Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) divisions which contribute to the Core sub-index.”
It said the core sub-index rose by 7.9 per cent in the period under review, marginally higher from 7.8 per cent in November.
NBS;
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On a month-on-month basis, the Urban All-items index increased by 0.8 per cent in November, the same rate over the last four months, while the Rural All Items index was recorded at 0.76 per cent, up from 0.68 recorded in November.
“The all items less farm produce or core index, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural products, edged higher during the second half of 2013. Prices increased for each month during this period to end at 7.9 percent in December, marginally higher than 7.8 per cent recorded in November.
“On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased at a faster pace in December (0.8 percent), compared with the previous three months where it had been stable at 0.6 per cent.”
“The increase in the core sub-index was as a result of price increases across various class items with the highest increases observed in the maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, repair of house hold appliances and pharmaceutical products.
“The average 12 month annual rate of rise of the index was recorded at 7.7 per cent for the twelve-month period ending in December 2013, down 0.4 percentage points from 8.1 per cent recorded in November 2013.”