By John Ikani
Nigeria’s inflation rate in the month of June 2022, surged further to 18.6% compared to 17.71% recorded in the previous month. This is according to the recently released CPI report for the month of June 2022, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The new rate which is 0.84 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2021 (17.75 percent) is the highest the nation has recorded since January 2017.
On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate increased to 1.82% in June 2022, this is 0.03% higher than the rate recorded in May 2022 (1.78%).
Also, the urban inflation rate increased to 19.09% (year-on-year); this is 0.74% points higher than the 18.35% recorded in June 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased to 18.13% in June 2022 from 17.16% recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Food
The composite food index rose to 20.60 percent in June 2022 on a year-on-year basis, the NBS said.
The rate of changes in average price level, however, declined by 1.23 percent compared to 21.83 percent in June 2021.
The rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, meat, fish, oil and fat, and wine.
On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 2.05 percent in June 2022, up by 0.03 percent from 2.01 percent recorded in May 2022.
The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending June 2022 over the previous twelve-month average is 18.62 percent, which is 1.10 percent points decline from the average annual rate of change recorded in June 2021 (19.72 percent).
Core inflation
Also, the core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce increased to 15.75% in the review month, rising by 0.85% points compared to 14.9% recorded in the previous month.
The highest increases were recorded in prices of Gas, Liquid fuel, Solid fuel, Garments, Passenger transport by road, Cleaning, Repair and Hire of clothing, and passenger travel by Air. On a month-on-month basis, the core sub-index increased to 1.56% in June 2022. This is down by 0.31% when compared to 1.87% recorded in May 2022.
States with the highest inflation rate
The NBS noted that in June 2022, all items inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bauchi (21.99 percent), Kogi (21.37 percent), Ebonyi (20.73 percent) while Adamawa (16.14 percent), Sokoto (16.31 percent) and Jigawa (16.37 percent) recorded the slowest rise in headline year-on-year inflation.
“On a month-on-month basis, however, June 2022, recorded the highest increases in Kogi (2.69 percent), Ondo (2.65 percent), and Kaduna (2.61 percent), while Adamawa (-0.26 percent), Abuja (-.0.03 percent) and Sokoto (0.79 percent) recorded the slowest rise on month-on-month inflation,” the bureau said.
