Nigeria: Inflation rises to 21-month high at turn of 2020
Consumer prices rose 0.87% on a month-on-month basis in January, up from December’s 0.85% increase. The pick-up was mostly driven by faster growth of food prices.
Meanwhile, inflation climbed for the fifth month running to 12.1% in January (December: 12.0%), the highest reading since April 2018. Thus, it rose further above the Central Bank’s target range of 6.0%–9.0%, where it has been for over four years. For its part, annual average inflation ticked up to 11.5% in January from 11.4% in December.
Moreover, core consumer prices, which exclude volatile agricultural produce, rose 0.82% month-on-month in January, marginally above December’s 0.81% increase. Core inflation held steady at 9.3% in January.