Nigeria’s inflation rate in December 2023 climbed to 28.92 per cent as a halt to petrol subsidies stoked transport costs, pushed up the prices of commodities and the naira weakened against the United States dollar.
The December 2023 inflation rate is an increase of 0.72 per cent points from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its report on Monday.
The rate increased by 7.58 per cent from that recorded in December 2022.
Food prices continue to be a major cost component for many Nigerians as food inflation surged to 33.93 per cent.
“In December 2023, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (44.73%), Kwara (41.33%), and Imo (39.54%), while Bauchi (27.49%), Jigawa (27.98%) and Sokoto (28.72%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis,” the NBS said.
“On a month-on-month basis, however, December 2023 food inflation was highest in Bayelsa (4.42%), Ogun (4.11%), and Enugu (4.03%), while Nasarawa (1.48%), Delta (1.65%) and Niger (1.67%) recorded the slowest rise in inflation on a month-on-month basis.”
Nigeria’s inflation has been on a steady rise since January 2023.
Last week, the United Nations projected that the ballooning inflation “will pose a downward risk to growth prospects” in the country in 2024.
