For the 15th consecutive month since January 2017, the inflation rate recorded a decline in April from 13.34 per cent in March 2018 to 12.48 per cent (year-on-year), even as food prices remained high.
Last month’s drop in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inched closer to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) target of 12 per cent of less, signposting the commencement of monetary policy easing by the central bank possibly by the second half of 2018.
According to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the CPI, which measures inflation stood at 12.48 per cent (year-on-year) in April 2018, indicating a 0.86 percentage points drop in the 13.34 per cent rate recorded in March 2018.
Also, on a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.83 per cent in April 2018, up by 0.01 percentage points from the rate recorded in March.
Increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yield the headline Index.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.83 per cent in April 2018, down by 0.01 percentage points from the rate recorded in March 2018.
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12-month period ending April 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period was 15.20 per cent, showing a 0.40 percentage difference.
The urban inflation rate eased by 12.89 per cent (year-on-year) in April 2018 from 13.75 per cent recorded in March, while the rural inflation rate also eased by 12.13 percent in April 2018 from 12.99 per cent in March.
On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.85 per cent in April 2018, down by 0.01 from 0.86 per cent recorded in March, while the rural index also rose by 0.82 per cent in April 2018, recording no
change from the figure obtained in March (0.82) per cent.
The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 15.47 per cent in April 2018.
This was less than 15.87 per cent reported in March, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in April 2018 was 14.95 per cent compared to 15.34 per cent recorded in March.
The composite food Index rose by 14.80 per cent in April 2018. The rise in the index was caused by increases in the prices of potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, bread and cereals, oil and fats, vegetables and meat.
On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 0.91 per cent in April 2018, up by 0.01 per cent points from 0.90 per cent recorded in March.
