Nigeria’s inflation rate has decreased to 33.30% in July 2024, down from 34.19% in June 2024. This is the first drop since December 2022, when it fell to 21.34%.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the inflation rate dropped by 0.79 percentage points in July compared to the previous month. However, the rate is still higher than the 24.08% recorded in July 2023.
The NBS report said, “In July 2024, the headline inflation rate eased to 33.40% relative to the June 2024 headline inflation rate of 34.19%. The July 2024 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to June 2024.”
On a month-to-month basis, the inflation rate in July was 2.28%, slightly lower than the 2.31% recorded in June.
Urban and Rural Inflation
For urban areas, the inflation rate was 35.77% on a year-to-year basis, up from 25.83% in July 2023. Month-to-month, it was 2.46%, almost the same as June’s 2.46%. The average urban inflation rate over the past twelve months was 32.89%, compared to 22.87% in July 2023.
In rural areas, the inflation rate was 31.26% year-to-year, up from 22.49% in July 2023. Month-to-month, it was 2.10%, a slight decrease from June’s 2.17%. The twelve-month average for rural inflation was 28.86%, up from 21.04% last year.
Food Inflation
Food inflation reached 39.53% in July 2024, a significant increase from 26.98% in July 2023. The rise was due to higher prices for items such as semovita, yam flour, wheat flour, and various other food products.
On a month-to-month basis, food inflation was 2.47%, down from 2.55% in June. This decrease was attributed to lower price increases for items like milk, fish, fruits, and meat.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending June 2024 was 36.36%, up from 24.46% recorded in July 2023.
The NBS report indicates ongoing inflationary pressures, despite the recent decline, affecting both urban and rural areas as well as food prices.
