Prices of food items like Bread, Cereals, Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, Fruits, Oils and Fats, Meat, Fish and Vegetables shot through the roof in June pushing composite food index to 15.18%, 0.14% points higher when compared to 15.04% recorded in May 2020.
Also, on a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.48% in June 2020, up by 0.06% points from 1.42% recorded in May 2020.
Similarly, increases were recorded in prices of Medical services, Hospital services, Passenger transport by road, Pharmaceutical products, Motor cars, Paramedical Services, Maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Vehicle spare parts, and Other services in respect of personal transport equipment.
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These figures were contained in the Consumer Purchasing Index, CPI report of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS in its recently released report.
According to the statistics office, in terms of food inflation on a year on year basis, Sokoto state (17.88%) recorded the highest followed by Plateau (17.04%) and Abuja (16.82%), while Bauchi (12.86%), Ogun (13.18%), and Lagos (13.46%) recorded the slowest rise.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria next week, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose further in June 2020 to 12.56% (year-on-year), 0.16% points higher than the rate recorded in May 2020 (12.4%). Annual inflation in Nigeria rose for a 10th straight month.
At the meeting, the committee is set to review the interest rates after it last week depreciated the naira by 5.5% against the dollar on the official market, its second adjustment in six months.
Recall that rising inflation has caused yields on Treasury bills and bonds to turn negative, a major stumbling block for the Central Bank’s push to attract foreign inflows to support the naira and boost the economy.
