The NBS report said looking at the inflation movement, the February headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.80% points when compared to the January headline inflation rate.
As Nigerians continue to groan over the increasing cost of living, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the country’s headline inflation rose to 31.70% in February, an increase of 1.80% from 29.90% recorded in January.
The NBS report said looking at the inflation movement, the February headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.80% points when compared to the January headline inflation rate.
On a year-on-year basis, the report stated that the headline inflation rate was 9.79% points higher compared to the rate recorded in February 2023, which was 21.91%.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in the month of February 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., February 2023).
“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in February 2024 was 3.12%, which was 0.48% higher than the rate recorded in January 2024 (2.64%). This means that in February 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in January 2024.
“The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve-month ending February 2024 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period was 26.18%, showing a 6.31% increase compared to 19.87% recorded in February 2023,” the report stated.
On a year-on-year basis for the urban inflation rate, the report stated that in February, the urban inflation rate was 33.66%, 10.87% points higher compared to the 22.78% recorded in February 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 3.17% in February, showing 0.45% points higher compared to January which was 2.72%.
“The corresponding twelve-month average for the urban inflation rate was 27.93% in February 2024. This was 7.48% points higher compared to the 20.45% reported in February 2023,” the report noted.
Also, the report stated that the rural inflation rate in February was 29.99% on a year-on-year basis; showing 8.89% higher compared to the 21.10% recorded in February 2023, while on a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in February was 3.07%, up by 0.50% points compared to January which was 2.57%.
According to the report, the corresponding twelve-month average for the rural inflation rate in February 2024 was 24.61%. This was 5.28% higher compared to the 19.33% recorded in February 2023.