Nigeria’s inflation rose to 16.82% in April 2022, according to the Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, May 16.
Annual food inflation rose to 18.4 per cent from 17.2 per cent in March, sending the headline rate to 16.8 per cent, the highest in eight months.
The consumer price index, which measures the rate of inflation rose by 16.82% year-on-year in April 2022, which is 0.9% points higher than the 15.92% recorded in the previous month (March 2022). On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.76% in April 2022, compared to a 1.74% increase recorded in the previous month.
Similarly, the urban inflation rate increased to 17.35% (year-on-year) in April 2022 from 18.68% recorded in April 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased to 16.32% in April 2022 from 17.57% in April 2021.
Food inflation rose to 18.37% in the review month, an increase compared to the 17.2% recorded in the preceding month. This rise in the food index was caused by increases in the prices of Bread and cereals, Food products, Potatoes, yam, and other tubers, Wine, Fish, Meat, and Oils.
On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 2% in April 2022, up by 0.01% points from 1.99% recorded in March 2022. Also, the average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending April 2022 over the previous twelve-month average is 18.88%, 0.34% points from the average annual rate of change recorded in March 2022 (19.21) per cent.
In April 2022, all items inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bauchi (18.93%), Ebonyi (18.88%), and Akwa Ibom (18.80%), while Sokoto (14.65%), Kwara (15.33%) and Kaduna (15.69%) recorded the slowest rise in headline Year on Year inflation.
In terms of food inflation, Kogi recorded the highest year-on-year increase in the food index with 22.79% in April 2022, Kwara State followed with 21.56%, and Ebonyi (21.45%), while Sokoto (14.85%), Kaduna (15.55%) and Anambra (16.68%) recorded the slowest rise in year-on-year food inflation.