The Nigerian inflation rate sharply rose 21.82 percent representing the fastest rise since September 2005 as prices of essential commodities surged in the January review by the National Bureau of Statistics. The inflation rate rose to 21.8% from 21.3% in December. This represents a 0.47% increase when compared to the 21.34% recorded in the previous month. The food inflation surged to 24.32% in January from 23.75% recorded in December 2022, while core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 19.16% in the review month compared to 18.49%.
Notably, the highest increases were recorded in prices of Gas, Liquid Fuel, Passenger Transport by Air, Vehicles Spare Parts, Fuels, and Lubricants for Personal Transport Equipment, Solid Fuel, etc. Meanwhile, in terms of the food index, the surge in the rate was attributed to an increase in the prices of some food items like Oil and Fat, Bread and Cereals, Fish, Potatoes, Yam & Tubers, etc.
