Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief on Monday as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as the country’s headline inflation figures recorded the first marginal reduction in about 21 months since August 2019.
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the NBS showed the country’s inflation figure declined by five basis points from about 18.17 percent recorded in March 2021 to about 18.12 percent in April 2021.
The last time Nigerians witnessed a drop in inflation figures was since August 2019, when the NBS announced a marginal drop in the inflation rate from 11.08 percent in July to 11.02 percent.
Since then, the country’s inflationary trend has been on the rise, from 11.02 percent in August 2019 to a peak of 18.17 percent in March 2021 before the latest drop in April to 18.12 percent.
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Yemi Kale who is also the Director-General of NBS announced the latest figures on his verified official Twitter handle, @sgyemikale.
The CPI measures the average change in prices of goods and services consumed by the people for their day-to-day living over the reporting period.
Food inflation, which always signposts the level of impact on prices of food items in the average Nigerian homes for the reporting period, also dropped from 22.95 percent in March 2021 to about 22.72 percent in April 2021, although Core Inflation rose from 12.67 percent in March 2021 to 12.74 percent in April 2021.
The latest report was based on the review by the NBS on the prices of different categories of food items and services in the different categories covered by the survey, including food and non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas; furnishings, household equipment; health; transport; communication, recreation and culture; education; restaurants and hotels, as well as miscellaneous goods and services.
