The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported a rise in Nigeria’s inflation rate to 33.2% in March 2024, marking a 1.5% point increase from the previous month’s 31.7%.
Although this increase is significant, it is less than the 1.80% increase observed in February 2024.
The inflation rate for March was primarily driven by the escalating costs of food, beverages, energy, and housing. Compared to March 2023, the headline inflation rate has risen by 11.16%, reaching 3.02% in March 2024, a slight decrease of 0.10% from February 2024.
Food Inflation
Food inflation saw a significant year-on-year increase, reaching 40.01% in March 2024, a rise of 15.56 percentage points from the same period in the previous year. This increase can be attributed to the rising prices of various food items, including garri, millet, and akpu uncooked fermented, all part of the Bread and Cereals category, as well as yam tuber, water yam, and others.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.62%, a slight decrease of 0.17% from February 2024. The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending in March 2024 was 31.40%, an increase of 8.69% points from the previous year.
Urban Inflation
Urban areas experienced a year-on-year inflation rate of 35.18% in March 2024, a rise of 12.11% from March 2023. The urban inflation rate for March 2024 was 3.17%, showing a negligible decrease of 0.0001% point from the previous month.
Rural Inflation
In rural areas, the year-on-year inflation rate for March 2024 was 31.45%, an increase of 10.37 percentage points from March 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate decreased by 0.20% points to 2.87% in March 2024.
Core Inflation
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 25.90% in March 2024 on a year-on-year basis, marking an increase of 6.26% from March 2023. The month-on-month core inflation rate in March 2024 was 2.54%, up from 2.17% in February 2024. The average annual inflation rate for the twelve months ending in March 2024 was 22.26%, 5.04% points higher than the same period in the previous year.
