Inflation rate at 18.72% smacks FG’s 11 reasons to believe recovery from recession
Less than three days after the federal government rolled out what it described as 11 reasons to show that recession is fading away, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Wednesday in Abuja said the 18.72 per cent rise in inflation rate is 0.17 percentage points higher than the18.55 per cent recorded in December 2016.
According to the report, “The Consumer Price Index which measures inflation increased by 18.72 per cent year-on-year in January 2017, 0.17 percentage points higher from the rate recorded in December 2016 18.55 per cent.”
The fastest pace of growth in headline inflation, year on year, were seen in bread and cereals, meat, fish, oils and fats, potatoes, yams and other tubers, wine and spirits, clothing materials and accessories.
Strategic indices following in the same order of jumping price include electricity, cooking gas, liquid and solid fuels, motor cars and maintenance, vehicle spare parts and fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, passenger transport by road.
On a month on month basis, the NBS report said food Index increased by 17.82 per cent (year-on-year) in January, up by 0.43 percentage points from rate recorded in December 2016.
Within the period under review, the report said all major food sub-indexes increased, with soft drinks recording the slowest pace of increase at 7.8 per cent year on year.
The urban index rose by 20.31 per cent (year-on-year) in January from 20.12 per cent recorded in December, while the rural index increased by 17.34 percent in January from 17.20 percent in December.
But on a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.03 per cent in January from 1.08 per cent recorded in December, while the rural index rose by one per cent in January from 1.04 per cent in December.
The NBS report also noted that average price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit known as petrol increased by 35.7 per cent year-on-year in January.
Details from the “Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for January released by NBS in Abuja yesterday show that Petrol increased unofficially by 35.7 per cent year-on-year and 1.35 per cent month-on-month to N148.7 in January 2017, from N146.7 in December 2016.
