According to data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate continued its upward trend, reaching 22.79 percent in June 2023. This marks the sixth consecutive increase in the inflation rate.
In June 2023, Africa’s largest economy experienced a new 17-year high inflation rate of 22.79 percent, surpassing the previous month’s rate of 22.41 percent.
The National Bureau of Statistics report states, “The headline inflation rate in June 2023 rose to 22.79 percent compared to the May 2023 headline inflation rate of 22.41 percent. Analyzing the movement, the June 2023 headline inflation rate reflects an increase of 0.38 percentage points compared to the May 2023 figure.”
“On a year-on-year basis, the June 2023 headline inflation rate was 4.19 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in June 2022, which stood at 18.60 percent. This indicates that the June 2023 headline inflation rate increased compared to the same month in the previous year, June 2022.”
The main contributors to the rising inflation figure were food and non-alcoholic beverages, accounting for 11.81 percent.
The World Bank had predicted that the removal of fuel subsidy would contribute to Nigeria’s inflationary pressures. In its June 2023 Nigeria Development Update, the bank stated, “The removal of the petrol subsidy is expected to temporarily raise inflation in the coming months before contributing to disinflation in the medium term.”
