National Bureau of Statistics has said inflation rate climbed to a new high in April 2024, reaching 33.69%. This represents a significant increase from the 33.2% recorded in March and a substantial jump compared to April 2023 (22.22%). On a month-on-month basis, April 2024 saw a 2.29% increase, slightly lower than March 2024’s 3.02% rise. The cost of food in Nigeria experienced a notable 40.53% increase in April 2024 compared to the previous year, marking the highest level of food inflation on record.
On a year-on-year basis, food inflation hit 40.53%, significantly surpassing April 2023’s rate of 24.61%. Despite this surge, the month-on-month food inflation rate in April 2024 decreased to 2.50% from 3.62% in March. Top contributors to the galloping inflation are Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages: 17.45%, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuel: 5.64%, Clothing & Footwear: 2.58%, Transport: 2.19%, Furnishings & Household Equipment & Maintenance: 1.69%, The twelve-month CPI change hit 28.10% in April 2024 from 20.82% recorded in April 2023. Overall, this increase paints a picture of a challenging economic situation in Nigeria, with rising inflation putting pressure on household budgets.
While the month-to-month increase slowed slightly, the overall trend remains concerning. the headline inflation rate increased to 33.69% relative to the March 2024 head line inflation rate which was 33.20%. Looking at the movement, the April 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.49% points when compared to the March 2024 headline inflation rate. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.47% points higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023, which was 22.22%. This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of April 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., April 2023). Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2024 was 2.29%, which was 0.73% lower than the rate recorded in March 2024 (3.02%). Overall, this increase paints a picture of a challenging economic situation in Nigeria, with rising inflation putting pressure on household budgets.
