The National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) disclosed that in March 2024, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate was 33.20% and rose to 33.69% in April 2024.
“In April 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 33.69% relative to the March 2024 head line inflation rate which was 33.20%,” the Bureau said in its report.
Examining the movement, the headline inflation rate for April 2024 increased by 0.49% points in comparison to the headline inflation rate for March 2024.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.47% points higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023, which was 22.22%.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of April 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., April 2023).
“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2024 was 2.29%, which was 0.73% lower than the rate recorded in March 2024 (3.02%). This means that in the month of April 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of in crease in the average price level in March 2024.”
Food and basic commodity prices have skyrocketed in recent weeks as Nigerians continue to struggle with a high cost of living and one of the hardest economic crises the nation has ever faced, which was brought on by the present government’s dual policy of eliminating petrol subsidies and unifying exchange windows. The naira, which initially appreciated against the dollar in April, tumbled from about N1,100/$1 to about N1,500/$1.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was anticipated to review the nation’s interest rate from 24.75% in light of the most recent inflation report from the NBS.
