Inflation rate drops in January despite election spending- NBS

Inflation rate dropped to 11.37 percent in January 2019 despite election spending.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had raised concerns on possibility of a spike in inflation following election spending.

However, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, released today by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed that the latest inflation rate is 0.07 percent points lower than the 11.44 per cent recorded in December 2018.

The report showed that increases were recorded in all divisions that yielded the Headline index.

On month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.74 per cent in January 2019, same rate as was recorded in December 2018 (0.74 percent).

Analysis showed that the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending January 2019 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 11.80 percent, showing 0.3 percent point from 12.10 per cent recorded in December 2018.

The urban inflation rate increased by 11.66 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2019 from 11.73 per cent recorded in December 2018, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.11 percent in January 2019 from 11.18 per cent in December 2018.