In February 2024, Nigeria’s headline inflation soared to a record-breaking 31.70%, primarily fueled by escalating food prices nationwide, as revealed by the latest Consumer Price Index and Inflation Reort from the National Bureau of Statistic. This surge of 1.80% from the previous month underscores a concerning trend, with the year-on-year comparison showing a stark increase of 9.79% points from February 2023, which stood at 21.91%.
Notably, the month-on-month headline inflation rate for February 2024 spiked to 31.12%, surpassing January’s 2,64%, indicative of a notable acceleration in the average price level. This escalating signifies a significant challenge for economic stability and consumer purchasing power, highlighting the pressing need for effective measures to mitigate inflationary pressures.
In February, food inflation increased to 37.94%, up from January’s 35.41%. This marks the 13th consecutive rise in the country’s inflation rate. It’s worth that last month, the Central Bank of Nigeria hiked the monetary policy rate by 400 basis points to 22.75% from 18.5%