The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Monday morning, released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of June, showing that inflation rate in Nigeria sustained its declining growth at 11.23% year-on-year, 0.37% points drop from 11.61% in the corresponding period of May, 2018.
This, the report noted, represents the 17th consecutive month of disinflation since January 2017.
Month-on-month, the headline index increased by 1.24% in June 2018, up by 0.15% points from the rate 1.09% recorded in May 2018.
According to the NBS, “the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending June 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 14.37%, showing 0.42% point lower from 14.79% recorded in May 2018.”
Food inflation fell to 12.98% YoY, from13.45% in May; while MoM, it jumped to 1.57%, when compared to the 1.33% record in May, with the highest rates of increase seen in food items such as potatoes, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, vegetables, milk, cheese and eggs, fish, as well as fruits, meat, oil and fats.
“The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending June 2018 was 17.75 percent, down 0.61 percent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in May 2018 (18.36%),” the report added. Core sub-inflation dropped to 10.4% from 10.7% in May, while MoM, it climbed from 0.98% to1.03%, after seeing increases in fuel and lubricants for personal transportation equipment, garments, books and stationeries, domestic household services, actual and imported rentals for housing and tobacco. Others included: vehicle spare parts, dental services, maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishment, paramedical services and hospital services.
Urban inflation rate however eased by 11.68% (year-on-year) in June 2018 from 12.08% recorded in prior month, but rose month-on-month by 1.24%, up by 0.14 from 1.1%; while rural inflation rate fell by 10.83% in June 2018, from 11.20% in May 2018. MoM, it however rose by 1.23% in June 2018, up by 0.15% from 1.08% recorded in May 2018.
The 12-month year-on-year average “percentage change for the urban index was 14.71% in June 2018. This is less than the 15.1% reported in May 2018, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in June 2018 was 14.08 percent compared to 14.53 percent recorded in May 2018.”
On a state-by-state basis, food inflation (YoY) was at its peak in the oil-rich states of Bayelsa at 15.90% and neighbouring Rivers, 15.54%; while Abuja followed with 15.44%.
On the other side, Benue recorded 8.92% inflation rate, making it the state with the slowest growth rate in food inflation for the period, ahead of Plateau, 10.42%; and Borno, 10.21%.
Month-on-Month, however, June 2018 food inflation was highest in Kogi, 5.05%; Oyo, 3.54%; and Gombe, 2.75%; while Edo with 0.01%, recorded the slowest rise, while “Kwara and Kaduna all recorded food price deflation or negative inflation (general decrease in the general price level of goods and services or a negative inflation rate) in June 2018.”