Nigeria’s inflation increased to 26.72%, representing a 0.92 %-point rise from the previous month’s 25.80%.
This data is from the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for September 2023 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The surge in inflation is primarily attributed to the removal of petrol subsidies and the devaluation of the official exchange rate, both significantly impacting consumer prices.
Month-on-month inflation rose to 2.18% – a 1.08% difference from the previous month of August.
Year-on-year inflation
Concerning year-on-year inflation contributions, Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for the most significant share at 13.84%, followed by housing water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 4.47%, and clothing and footwear at 2.04%.
In September 2023, urban inflation hit 28.68%, marking a 7.43%-point increase from the 21.25% recorded in September 2022, while rural inflation stood at 24.94%, indicating a 4.62%-point increase from the 20.32% in 2022.
Food inflation
Food inflation experienced a sharp rise to 30.64% in September 2023, a 1.30 %-point increase from the previous month and 7.30% points higher than the corresponding period in 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in September 2023 reached 2.45%, which was 1.41% points lower compared to the rate in August 2023 (3.87%).
The drop in month-on-month Food inflation resulted from a reduced rate of growth in the average costs of Potatoes, Yam, and other tubers, Bread and cereals, Fruits, as well as Fish.
The annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending September 2023 averaged 25.65%, a 6.29 %-point increase from September 2022 (9.36%).
All items less farm produce and energy
The “All items less farm produce,” which excludes volatile agricultural produce prices and energy, registered a year-on-year rate of 21.84% in September 2023, up by 4.35% compared to September 2022’s 17.49%.
On a month-on-month basis, the Core Inflation rate for September 2023 was 2.22%, a slight increase from 2.18% in August 2023.
The average twelve-month annual inflation rate for the twelve months ending September 2023 was 19.55%, a 4.48% point increase from September 2022.
The most significant price hikes were observed in the costs of Passenger Transport by Road, Passenger Transport by Air, Medical Services, Furniture Repair, Maintenance, and the repair of personal transport equipment, among others.
Inflation by state
For September 2023, the highest year-on-year all items inflation rates were observed in Kogi (32.95%), Rivers (30.63%), and Lagos (30.04%), whereas Borno (21.05%), Jigawa (22.39%), and Benue (23.22%) reported the most gradual increases in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis.
Food inflation
In September 2023, the highest year-on-year Food inflation rates were recorded in Kogi (39.37%), Rivers (35.95%), and Lagos (35.66%), whereas Jigawa (23.41%), Borno (25.29%), and Sokoto (25.38%) reported the most modest increases in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis.
