The headline Inflation rate for September 2023, on a year-on-year basis, increased to 26.72% relative to the August 2023 rate of 25.80%, amid rising cost of food, housing, water, electricity, gas, petrol and other fuels, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The Consumer Pricing Indices (CPI) released on Monday in Abuja by the statistics agency showed the headline inflation rate trend in September 2023 increasing by 0.92% points when compared to the August 2023 headline inflation rate.
Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the NBS said headline inflation rate was 5.94% points higher compared to the 20.77% rate recorded in September 2022.
The NBS said the increase in the headline index for September 2023 was attributed to the increase in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level, with Food and non-alcoholic Beverages prices rising by 13.84%, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & other Fuel (4.47%).
Also, Clothing & Footwear rose by 2.04%, Transport (1.74%), Furnishings & Household Equipment and maintenance (1.34%), Education (1.05%) and Health (0.80%). Others are Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.44%), Restaurants & Hotels (0.32%), Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco & Kola (0.29%), Recreation & Culture (0.18%) and Communication (0.18%).
On a month-over-month basis, the NBS said headline inflation rate in September 2023 stood at 2.10%, showing that the average price level decreased by 1.08% when compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (3.18%).
The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending September 2023 over the average of the CPI for the previous corresponding twelve-month period was 22.90%, showing a 5.47% increase compared to 17.43% recorded in September 2022.
The Food sub-index for September 2023, the NBS disclosed, increased to 30.64% on a year-on-year basis, which was 7.30% points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022 (23.34%).
The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis, the agency said, was attributed to increases in prices of Oil & fat, Bread & cereals, Potatoes, Yam & other Tubers, Fish, Fruit, Meat, Vegetables and Milk, Cheese, and Eggs.
However, on a month-on-month basis, the NBS said Food inflation rate in September 2023 was 2.45%. This was 1.41% lower compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (3.87%). The decline in Food inflation was caused by a decrease the average in prices of Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, Bread and cereals, Fruits, and Fish.
“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending September 2023 over the previous twelve-month average was 25.65%, which was 6.29% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in September 2022 (19.36%),” the NBS said.
Similarly, Core inflation, which is All items less volatile farm produces and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, showed that exclusion of petrol was due to the deregulation of the commodity by removal of subsidy. The core inflation rate stood at 21.84% in September 2023 on a year-on-year basis, showing a rise of 4.35% when compared to the 17.49% recorded in September 2022.
The highest increases were recorded in prices of Passenger Transport by Air, Passenger Transport by Road, Passenger Transport by Air, Medical Services, Maintenance, and repair of personal transport equipment.
On a month-on-month basis, the Core Inflation rate in the same way also increased by 2.22% in September 2023, up by 0.05% compared to 2.18% in August 2022.
The average twelve-month annual inflation rate ending August 2023 over the previous twelve-month average stood at 19.55% in September 2023; this was 4.48% points higher than the 15.07% recorded in September 2022.
The Urban consumer’s inflation rate on a year-on-year basis stood at 28.68% for September 2023 showed a 7.43% point higher compared to the 21.25% recorded in the corresponding month in 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the Urban inflation rate grew by 2.24% in September 2023, this shows an increase of 1.05% points lower compared to 3.29% in August 2023.
The twelve-month average annual inflation rate ending September 2023 over the previous corresponding twelve-month average, Urban inflation rate was 24.10%. This was 6.16% points higher compared to the 17.94% reported in September 2022.
The Rural consumer’s sub-index in September 2023 was 24.94% on a year-on-year basis; this was 4.62% higher compared to the 20.32% recorded in August 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the Rural sub-index in August 2023 was 1.96%, which decreased by 1.12% points compared to August 2023 (3.08%).
The twelve-month average annual inflation rate ending September 2023 over the previous corresponding twelve-month average, Rural inflation rate was 21.79%. This was 4.85% higher compared to the 16.94% recorded in September 2022.
The analyses of the states showed that the all-item index for September 2023, on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (32.95%), Rivers (30.63%), Lagos (30.04%), while Borno (21.05%), Jigawa (22.39%) and Benue (23.22%) recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation.
On a month-on-month basis, September 2023 recorded the highest increases in Taraba (3.39%), Bauchi (3.38%), Niger (3.28%), while Borno (0.71%), Ekiti (1.05%) and Benue (1.13%) recorded the slowest rise on month-on-month inflation.
State-level analyses of the food index in September 2023, on a year-on-year basis, showed the highest increases in Kogi (39.37%), Rivers (35.95%) and Lagos (35.66%), while Jigawa (23.41%), Borno (25.29%) and Sokoto (25.38%) recorded the slowest rise.
On a month-on-month basis, however, September 2023 Food inflation was highest in Akwa Ibom (4.23%), Niger (4.19%) and Ebonyi (3.74%), while Cross River (0.31%), Borno (0.62%) and Bayelsa (0.73%) recorded the slowest rise.
