The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for February 2024, revealing a significant uptick in inflation, with the rate rising to 31.7 percent from 29.9 percent recorded in the previous month.
According to the NBS, the inflation surge was accompanied by a sharp increase in food inflation, which soared to 37.92 percent in February.
The CPI report highlighted that the January 2024 headline inflation rate witnessed a considerable uptick, showing an increase of 1.80 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in February 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., February 2023),” the report stated.
Furthermore, the month-on-month basis indicated a 3.12 percent headline inflation rate in February 2024, marking a 0.48 percent increase from the rate recorded in January 2024.
The NBS attributed the surge in food inflation to the increased prices of essential commodities such as bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, and fruit.
The report also noted a 13.57 percent points rise in the food inflation rate on a year-on-year basis compared to February 2023, which stood at 24.35 percent.
Moreover, on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in February 2024 recorded a 3.79 percent increase, reflecting a 0.58 percent rise from January 2024.
“The rise in the Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis was caused by a rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of Bread and Cereals, Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers, Fish, Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa,” the NBS noted.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending February 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was reported at 30.07 percent, marking a 7.95 percent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in February 2023.
