NBS sees July inflation dropping to 11.14% as prices of food items kept rising
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday published July 2018 inflation report, showing that Nigeria’s headline consumer price index extended deceleration (which started in 2017) to the eighteenth consecutive month.
Headline inflation was 11.14% y/y in July, moderating from 11.23% y/y in June. The data came in 2 bps below our forecast of 11.16% y/y and 13 bps ahead of Bloomberg compiled average estimate of 11.01% y/y. On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.13% (vs. 1.24% the previous month) – the first month-on-month decline since February 2018.
However, food inflation rose by 12.85% y/y in the review period, lower than the 12.98% y/y recorded in June. Notably, the highest increase was recorded in the prices of potatoes, yam and other tubers, vegetables, bread and cereals, fish, oils and fat and fruits. On month-on-month basis, food inflation increased at a slower pace of 1.40%, compared to the 1.57% recorded in the previous month.
Core inflation was 10.2% y/y during the review period, vs. 10.4% in June. The highest increases were reported in the prices of medical services, carpets and other floor coverings, vehicle spare parts, domestic services and household services, pharmaceutical products, paramedical services, hairdressing saloons and personal grooming establishment, dental services, motor cars and fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment. On a m/m basis, the core index increased at a slower pace of 0.81%, 22 bps below the 1.03% reported in June.
