The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 7.8 per cent in March, 0.1 per cent higher than the 7.7 per cent recorded in February.
Food price inflation inched up to 9.3 percent from 9.2 percent the previous month, the NBS said.
“Prices were pushed higher as a result of higher prices in the bread and cereals, fish, dairy, oils and fats, and fruits,” it said in its monthly inflation release.
The statement issued by the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr Yemi Kale, said : “In March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation, edged higher when compared with February,” adding that “prices rose by 7.8 per cent (year-on-year) in March, marginally higher from 7.7 per cent recorded in the previous month.
“Over the previous six months reporting period, inflation rates have been relatively stable, moving in a choppy fashion.”
It stated that prices were pushed higher as a result of higher prices in bread and cereals, fish, dairy, oil and fats, and fruits classes.
According to the statement, prices in the food sub-index where however weighed down by relatively slower increases in meats, vegetables, potatoes, yams and other tubers, classes.
“On a month-on-month basis, food prices increased by 1.0 per cent in March, 0.4 percentage points higher from the 0.6 per cent increase recorded in February. This was also the highest month-on-month increase recorded over the previous 12-month period,” it said.
“On a month-on-month basis, the highest price increases were recorded in the fish, fruit, and potatoes, yams and other tubers classes.”
The statement said that the “all items less Farm Produce’’ which excluded the prices of volatile agricultural products increased at slower rate (year-on-year) in March 2014 when compared with February 2014.
“The increase was as a result of price increases across various class items in particular; wine, carpets and other floor coverings; repair of household appliances, and fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment,’’ it said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is officially targeting a consumer inflation rate of 6 to 9 percent this year and has a longer-term goal of reducing inflation to around 5 percent by the end of 2015.
Nigeria plans to reweight its inflation index by the end of the year using 2009 as its base year instead of the current 2004 to reflect the impact of non-food items on prices more accurately, the NBS said last week.
This follows a rebasing of GDP data this month that led to Nigeria overtaking South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy.
BusinessDay Reporter
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