By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The National Bureau of Statistics has announced that headline inflation rose by 0.71 per cent to stand at 16.5 per cent in January from 15.8 per cent in December 2020.
NBS stated this on Tuesday in its Consumers’ Price Index Report for January 2021.
The bureau noted that food inflation also rose by 1.01 percentage points to 20.57 per cent in January from 19.6 per cent in December last year.
According to the report, “The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 16.47 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2021. This is 0.71 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2020 (15.75 percent). Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index.
“On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.49 per cent in January 2021. This is 0.12 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in December 2020 (1.61 per cent).
“The composite food index rose by 20.57 per cent in January 2021 compared to 19.56 per cent in December 2020.
“This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, Meat, Fruits, Vegetable, Fish and Oils and Fats.
“On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.83 per cent in January 2021, down by 0.22 per cent points from 2.05 per cent recorded in December 2020. ”
“In January 2021, all items inflation on year on year basis was highest in Kogi (21.4 per cent), Oyo (20.17 per cent) and Bauchi (19.52 per cent), while Kwara (13.96%), Abuja (12.96 per cent) and Cross River (12.22 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in headline Year on Year inflation.”