BREAKING: Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Surges To 25.08%, As Food Prices Rise Nationwide

Nigeria’s annual inflation rate increased to 25.08% in August from 24.08% in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

VerseNews reports that this represents a 1.72 percentage point increase in the headline inflation rate from July 2023 to August 2023.

Compared to August 2022, the year-on-year headline inflation rate in August 2023 was 5.27 percentage points higher, rising from 20.52% to 25.08%.

Food inflation also surged in August, reaching 29.34% on a year-on-year basis, which was a significant increase of 6.22 percentage points compared to August 2022 (23.12%).

The rise in food prices is attributed to various factors, including government policies like the removal of petrol subsidies and other economic pressures.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol in May, contributing to increased prices of goods and services, resulting in hardship for many Nigerians.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unified all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market to enhance transparency and boost investor confidence.

However, this policy exerted pressure on the local currency and manufacturers, leading to higher prices.

Inflation has remained persistently high in Nigeria, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates to their highest levels in nearly two decades.