The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 22.41% in May 2023. According to the NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for May 2023, released in Abuja on Thursday, this figure represents a 0.19% increase compared to the 22.22% recorded in April 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in May 2023 was 4.70% higher than the rate recorded in May 2022 at 17.71%. This indicates a significant increase in inflation during the corresponding period.
The report highlighted the contributions of various items to the increase in the headline index. Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 11.61%, while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel contributed 3.75%. Other contributing factors include clothing and footwear (1.71%), transport (1.46%), furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance (1.13%), education (0.88%), and health (0.67%). Additionally, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurant and hotels, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture, and communication also had minor contributions to the inflation rate.
The percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending in May 2023 over the previous 12 months period was 21.20%. This indicates a 4.75% increase compared to the 16.45% recorded in May 2022. The report noted that increases were observed in all Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions.
The report further revealed that the food inflation rate in May 2023 was 24.82% on a year-on-year basis, which represents a 5.33% increase compared to May 2022. The rise in food inflation can be attributed to the increased prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yams and other tubers, oil and fat, fish, vegetables, fruits, meat, and spirits. On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in May rose to 2.19%, a slight increase from April 2023.
Excluding the prices of volatile agricultural produce, the core inflation rate stood at 20.06% in May 2023 on a year-on-year basis. This marked a significant increase of 5.16% compared to May 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate rose to 1.81%, depicting a 0.37% increase from April 2023.
The report highlighted the highest increases in prices of gas, passenger transport by air, liquid fuel, fuels, lubricants for personal transport equipment, and vehicle spare parts. Other contributing factors include passenger transport by road, medical services, among others.
The average 12-month annual inflation rate for the period ending in May 2023 was 17.33%, which represents a 4.50% increase from May 2022.
These inflation figures signify a challenging economic situation for Nigeria, with rising prices impacting the cost of living for its citizens. It is crucial for the government and relevant stakeholders to address the underlying factors contributing to inflation and implement effective measures to stabilize the economy and mitigate the impact on the population.
