The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday that Nigeria’s inflation rate has fallen for two months in a row, from 34.19% in June to 33.40% in July and now 32.15% in August.

According to the Bureau’s Consumer Price Index data for August 2024, headline inflation fell to 32.15%, while food inflation remained at 37.52%.

“Looking at the movement, the August 2024 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.25% points when compared to the July 2024 headline inflation rate,” the National Bureau of Statistics explained.

“However, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35% higher than in August 2023 (25.80%).

“On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22%, 0.06% lower than the rate in August 2024 (2.28%). This suggests that the average price level will climb at a slower rate in August 2024 than it did in July 2024.
The NBS reported that food inflation in August 2024 was 37.52% year on year, 8.18% higher than the rate in August 2023 (29.34%).

It stated that the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by price rises in the following items: bread, maize, grains, guinea corn, bread, cereals yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber, palm oil, vegetable oil, among others.

On a monthly basis, the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.37%, down 0.10% from the rate reported in July 2024 (2.47%).

According to the NBS, the drop can be linked to a slowing of the pace of increase in the average prices of tobacco, tea, cocoa, coffee, groundnut oil, milk, yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber, palm oil, vegetables, and so on.

Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Sokoto (46.98%), Gombe (43.25%), and Yobe (43.21%) in August 2024, while Benue (32.33%), Rivers (33.01%), and Bayelsa (33.36%) saw the slowest rise.

On a month-to-month basis, however, August 2024 Food inflation was highest in Adamawa (5.46%), Kebbi (4.48%), and Borno (3.88%), while Ogun (0.08%), Akwa-Ibom (0.45%), and Sokoto (1.00%) saw the slowest rise in food inflation on a month-to-month basis.