Nigeria has recorded its highest inflation rate in 17 years as the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, surged to 21.09% in October 2022, up from 20.77% recorded last month.
The development shows that the general price level for the headline inflation rate increased in October 2022 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (October 2021) by 5.09 percent.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its report on Tuesday, November 15, said: “On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate for October 2022 was 1.24 percent, this was 0.11 percent lower than the rate recorded in September 2022 (1.36 percent). This means that in October 2022 the general price level for the headline inflation rate (month–on–month basis) declined by 0.11 percent.
The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending October 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 17.86 percent, showing a 0.91 percent increase compared to the 16.96 percent recorded in October 2021.
On a year-on-year basis, in October 2022, the urban inflation rate was 21.63 percent, 5.11 percent higher compared to the 16.52 percent recorded in October 2021. On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 1.33 percent in October 2022, this was a 0.12 percent decline compared to September 2022 (1.46%).
The corresponding twelve-month average for the urban inflation rate was 18.38% in October 2022. This was 0.85% higher compared to the 17.53% reported in October 2021.”
