Nigeria’s inflation hits 29.90%, highest since mid-1996

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 29.90 per cent in January 2024, compared to 28.92 per cent in December 2023, the highest level ever since mid-1996, a recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

In January 2024, the urban inflation rate stood at 31.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 9.40 percentage points higher than 22.55 per cent in January 2023, the report added.

On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 2.72 per cent in January 2024, which was 0.30 percentage points higher than December 2023.

The corresponding twelve-month average for the urban inflation rate was 27.01 per cent in January 2024, compared to 19.91 per cent reported in January 2023, recording 7.10 percentage points.

The Nigerian central bank’s governor aims to reduce inflation to around 21 per cent and is expected to implement a significant interest rate hike of around 400 basis points to 22.75 per cent when the Monetary Policy Committee meets later this month, Reuters reported.