Nigeria’s annual inflation rate surged to 28.20% in November, marking a notable increase from the previous month’s 27.33%, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.
The November 2023 headline inflation rate witnessed a rise of 0.87% points compared to October 2023, as reported by the NBS. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.73% points higher than November 2022, reaching 21.47%.
The report highlighted a continuous upward trend in the headline inflation rate, emphasizing a significant increase in November 2023 compared to the same month in the preceding year (November 2022).
Food inflation, a critical component of the overall inflation rate, accelerated to 32.84% year-on-year in November 2023. This marked an increase of 8.72% points compared to November 2022, where it stood at 24.13%.
The rising trend in food prices over the past years has been influenced by various factors, including government policies such as the removal of subsidies on petrol. President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, contributing to increased hardships for many Nigerians and a subsequent surge in the prices of goods and services.
Additionally, the depreciation of the naira, surpassing 50% in both authorised and unauthorised market segments, has added to the economic challenges. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) consolidated all forex windows into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window in June, contributing to the ongoing inflationary pressures.
The persistent high inflation rates in Africa’s largest economy led the CBN to implement interest rate hikes, reaching their highest levels in nearly two decades.
