According to recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate surged to 29.90% in January 2024, marking the highest level since mid-1996. This represents a notable increase from 28.92% recorded in December 2023.
In urban areas, the inflation rate climbed to 31.95% year-on-year in January 2024, showing a significant rise of 9.40 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. Additionally, on a month-on-month basis, urban inflation reached 2.72% in January 2024, indicating a 0.30 percentage point increase from December 2023.
The twelve-month average for urban inflation also saw a substantial uptick, reaching 27.01% in January 2024 compared to 19.91% reported in January 2023, marking a notable increase of 7.10 percentage points.
In response to the soaring inflation rates, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria aims to curb inflation to around 21%. To achieve this goal, the bank is expected to implement a significant interest rate hike of approximately 400 basis points, bringing the rate to 22.75% when the Monetary Policy Committee convenes later this month, as reported by Reuters.
