The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its latest data on Thursday, revealing that Nigeria’s headline inflation surged to 29.90% in January 2024.
This marks a significant increase from the December 2023 figure of 28.92%, as stated in the NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for January.
According to the report, the January 2024 headline inflation rate showed a notable rise of 0.98% points compared to the previous month.
Moreover, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate saw an 8.08% points increase from January 2023, which stood at 21.82%.
The NBS highlighted that food inflation also experienced a sharp uptick, reaching 35.41% year-on-year.
This represents an 11.10% points surge compared to the same period in January 2023, which recorded a rate of 24.32%.
The rise in food inflation was attributed to increases in the prices of various essential commodities, including bread and cereals, potatoes, yam, oil and fat, fish, meat, fruit, as well as coffee, tea, and cocoa.
These factors collectively contributed to the upward trajectory of inflation in the country, posing challenges to consumers and policymakers alike.