Nigeria’s inflation rate soared to 33.88% in October 2024, increasing from 32.7% in September 2024.
The latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) attributes this surge in inflation primarily to rising transportation and food costs.
When compared to the same period last year, the inflation rate reveals a significant jump. The October 2024 rate of 33.88% is 6.55 percentage points higher than the 27.33% recorded in October 2023.
On a month-to-month basis, the increase, while smaller, is still noteworthy. The inflation rate for October 2024 rose to 2.64%, marking a gain of 0.12% from the 2.52% recorded in September 2024.
Food prices have also escalated sharply. In October 2024, the year-on-year food inflation rate reached 39.16%, a rise of 7.64 percentage points from the 31.52% noted in October 2023. Month-on-month, food inflation increased by 0.30%, climbing to 2.94% from the 2.64% recorded in September 2024.
This increase in food prices is driven by higher costs for items such as local and foreign beers, vegetable oils, groundnut oil, and palm oil. Prices for meats, including beef and gizzards, have also surged, along with products like Lipton, Milo, and Bournvita.
The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending in October 2024 stood at 38.12%, reflecting an alarming increase of 11.79 percentage points from the 26.33% reported in October 2023.
