Inflation declines to 15.40 percent but Nigerians remain unimpressed

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Wednesday, released its consumer price index (CPI) report for the month of November.

As expected, headline inflation slowed again to 15.40 percent from 15.99 percent in October – 8th consecutive monthly decline and the lowest rate recorded in 2021, yet Nigerians remain unimpressed.

The consistent rise in the prices of food items, electricity, gas, and other household goods Nigerians and has put the integrity of Nigeria’s official inflation numbers to question.

In the last 8 months, there appears to have been a divergence between the official data and market reality as the prices of major commodities like cooking gas, vegetable oil, flour, pasta have surged by over 50 percent.

Read also: Nigeria’s inflation sees 8th consecutive drop at 15.40%

A breakdown of the report showed a broad-based moderation across the inflation baskets. On an annual basis, food inflation declined by 1.07 percent to 17.21 percent, core (inflation less seasonalities) rose by 0.46 percent to 13.85 percent, urban slowed by 0.6 percent to 15.92 percent while rural dropped by 0.59 percent to 14.89 percent. This is largely due to base year effects.

On a monthly basis, the all-items month-on-month inflation rate increased by 1.08 percent in November 2021, this is 0.10 percent rate higher than the rate recorded in October 2021 (0.98) percent, food increased by 1.07 percent in November 2021, up by 0.16 percent points from 0.91 percent recorded in October 2021, core dipped 0.46 percent when compared with 0.80 percent recorded in October 2021.

Managing director and CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, during a breakfast meeting on macroeconomic outlook with BusinessDay stated that the higher prices we are seeing today are related to the supply-and-demand chain imbalances that can be traced directly back to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy and this has subsequently eroded investment growth by 60 percent in most economies globally this year alone.