Nigeria’s inflation drops for the second month, fuel price hike clouds outlook

Nigeria’s headline consumer inflation eased for the second consecutive month in August, dropping to 32.15% year-on-year from 33.40% in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped in July for the first time in over a year, easing to 33.40% annually from 34.19% in June. The last time annual inflation declined was in December 2022.

However, there are concerns the recent slowdown in inflation might be short-lived, especially after petrol prices were hiked twice in September.

The headline inflation rate in August 2024 showed a decrease of 1.25 percentage points compared to the rate in July 2024. This movement indicates a slowing pace in the rise of prices during this period.

On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (25.80%). Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22%, a slight decrease of 0.06 percentage points from the 2.28% recorded in August 2024.

The food inflation rate in August 2024 stood at 37.52% year-on-year, marking an 8.18 percentage point increase from the 29.34% recorded in August 2023.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation in August 2024 was 2.37%, showing a slight decrease of 0.10 percentage points compared to the 2.47% recorded in July 2024.