Inflation rises for 5th consecutive time, climbs to 22.41%

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 22.41%, according to the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the report released on Thursday, inflation marked the fifth consecutive increase in May.

The development comes amid the hike in fuel price as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.61%) contributed the most to pressure, followed by housing water, electricity, gas and other fuel, and clothing and footwear.

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Others are Furnishings & Household Equipment & Maintenance (1.13 percent) Education, (0.88 percent), Health (0.67 percent), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.37 percent), Restaurant & Hotels (0.27 percent,) Alcoholic Beverage, Tobacco & Kola (0.24 percent), Recreation & Culture (0.15 percent) and Communication (0.15 percent).

Food prices increased by 24.82% in May 2023, with notable rises in oil/fat, yam, bread/cereals, fish, and vegetables.

“Looking at the movement, the May 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.19 percent points when compared to April 2023 headline inflation rate. Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.70 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2022, which was (17.71 percent),” it said.

Core inflation stood at 20.06% in May 2023, driven by higher gas prices, air transport costs, and medical services.