Inflation rises higher in March to 15.9%—NBS

National Bureau of Statistics has said that the rate at which prices of goods and services are rising inched higher in the Month of March to 15.9 per cent. The Bureau in its latest inflation report on Nigeria said “In March 2022, the consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased to 15.92 per cent on year-on-year basis. This is 2.25 per cent points lower compared to 18.17 percent, the rate recorded in March 2021. This means that the headline inflation rate slowed down in March 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year.

Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index. On month-on-month basis, the Headline Index increased to 1.74 per cent in March 2022, this is 0.11 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in February 2022 (1.63 percent). The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending March 2022 over the average previous twelve months period is 16.54 percent, this shows 0.19 percent points decrease compare to 16.73 percent recorded in February 2022.

The Urban Inflation rate increased to 16.44 per cent year-on-year in March 2022 showing a decline of 2.32 per cent points from the rate recorded in March 2021 (18.76 percent). In the same vein, the Rural Inflation increased to 15.42 per cent in March 2022 with a decrease of 2.18 percent points from 17.60 percent recorded in March 2021. On a month-on-month basis, the Urban Index rose to 1.76 percent in March 2022, this was up by 0.11 percent points from the rate recorded in February 2022 (1.65 percent). The Rural Index rose to 1.73 percent in March 2022, with 0.12 percent point increase from 1.61 percent recorded in February 2022.