Annual inflation in Nigeria stood at 11.44 percent in December, 0.16 percent points higher from 11.28 percent recorded in November 2018.
It is the highest inflation rate since May 2018, as prices continued to advance mainly for food and housing & utilities.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Inflation on the food price index was 13.56 percent, up from 13.30 percent.
This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of soft drinks, Fish, Bread and Cereals, Oils and fats, Coffee, tea and cocoa, Meat, Milk, Cheese and egg, Vegetables, Potatoes, yam and other tubers.
On month-on-month basis, the Headline index which is a measure of the total inflation within an economy, including commodities such as food and energy prices increased by 0.74 percent in December 2018. This is up by 0.06 percent points from the 0.80 percent recorded in November 2018
The urban inflation rate increased by 11.73 percent (year-on-year) in December 2018 from 11.61 percent recorded in November 2018, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.18 percent in December 2018 from 10.99 percent in November 2018.
FSDH Merchant Bank has projected inflation rate of 13 percent for 2019 fiscal year, citing implementation of the new minimum wage, upward review of electricity tariff and likely removal of fuel subsidy as factors that will drive up prices next year.
This is in contrast to projections by Nigeria’s Central bank governor who says Inflation expectations are rising on the backdrop of anticipated “politically-related liquidity injections’. Delivering a keynote address at the annual Bankers Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Nigeria (CIBN) in 2018, he said for the rest of 2018 and towards mid-2019, Nigeria’s rate of inflation is projected to rise slightly to 11.4 percent and then moderate thereafter.