Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 33.69% in April 2024, marking a notable increase from the 33.20% recorded in March 2024, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.
The report highlighted a significant 0.49% point rise in the headline inflation rate for April 2024 compared to the previous month.
On a year-on-year basis, April 2024’s headline inflation rate stood at 11.47% points higher than the same period in 2023, which recorded a rate of 22.22%. This indicates a substantial uptick in inflation levels compared to the preceding year.
Furthermore, the month-on-month analysis revealed that April 2024 witnessed a 2.29% increase in headline inflation, showing a slight decrease of 0.73% compared to March 2024, where the rate stood at 3.02%. This suggests a relatively slower pace of average price level increment compared to the previous month.
The report comes amidst soaring prices of food and basic commodities, exacerbating the economic challenges faced by Nigerians. The country grapples with one of its most severe economic crises, propelled by government policies such as petrol subsidy removal and the unification of forex windows. In April, the naira experienced fluctuations, initially appreciating against the dollar before plummeting from approximately N1,100/$1 to about N1,500/$1.
Following the alarming inflation figures, attention turns to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), expected to review the country’s interest rate currently pegged at 24.75%.