Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell to 32.15 percent in August 2024, down from 33.40 percent in July. This marks the second consecutive month of easing inflation, with a decrease of 1.25 percentage points, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
However, compared to August 2023, when inflation stood at 25.80 percent, the current rate shows a significant year-on-year increase of 6.35 percentage points. On a month-to-month basis, inflation was 2.22 percent, marginally lower than the 2.28 percent recorded in July, indicating a slower rise in prices.
The report showed that inflation in urban areas hit 34.58 percent year-on-year in August. This is a 6.89 percentage points rise from August 2023. The monthly figure for urban inflation dropped slightly to 2.39 percent, from 2.46 percent in July. In rural areas, inflation reached 29.95 percent year-on-year, a rise of 5.85 percentage points from August 2023. Month-on-month, rural inflation edged down to 2.06 percent, compared to 2.10 percent in July.
Food inflation was said to have been a major contributor, as it hit 37.52 percent year-on-year. Food inflation is driven by higher prices for bread, tubers, palm oil, and beverages. On a monthly basis, food inflation slowed to 2.37 percent, down from 2.47 percent in July.
For state-by-state inflation, Bauchi reported the highest inflation rate at 46.46 percent, followed by Kebbi (37.51 percent) and Jigawa (37.43 percent). Benue (25.13 percent), Delta (26.86 percent), and Imo (28.05 percent) saw the slowest inflation growth year-on-year.
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