Nigeria’s inflation hits 13.2%, highest in 2 years

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 13.22% in August 2020 from 12.82% in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report published Tuesday.

It was the highest inflation rate since March 2018, as food prices increased to an over two-year high (16% against 15.48% in June) due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Also, cost advanced further for housing & utilities (8.1% against 8%); transport (11.2% against 10.8%); furnishings & household equipment (10.2% against 10%); education (9.6% against 9.5%); and health (12.1% against 11.6%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 1.3%, following a 1.2% gain in July.

Inflation has been above the Central Bank of Nigeria’s target range of 6% to 9% for more than five years and will probably continue accelerating due to a currency that’s under pressure and a recent order by President Muhammadu Buhari that restricts dollar access for all food and fertilizer imports.

Food prices have been a key driver of inflation in the nation of nearly 200 million people, and the index rose by 16% from a year earlier. Costs rose 1.7% in the month, the most since June 2017.