Prices of non-food items push inflation to 8.2%

Prices of non-food items push inflation to 8.2%

The National Bureau of Statistics on Monday released the Consumer
Price Index for January, stating that increase in the prices of non-food
items such as electricity, gas and other fuels had pushed inflation up
by 8.2 per cent.

The bureau, in the inflation report made available to our correspondent
in Abuja, said the 8.2 per cent year on year rise represented a 0.2
percentage point increase over the eight per cent recorded in
December 2014.

In November last year, inflation rate was around 7.9 per cent. And
following the devaluation of the naira by eight per cent by the Central
bank of Nigeria in November last year, analysts had predicted the
inflation rate would increase. There were fears that inflation could hit
a double digit on the back of the devaluation.

Apart from the increases recorded in electricity and gas prices, the
report also listed footwear, housing, water, furnishing, household
equipment maintenance items as well as clothing as other major
components that pushed up the inflation rate.

The report also showed that while the prices of most items that
contributed to the index increased during the period, this was
countered by slower rises in food items such as fish, fruit, coffee, tea,
cocoa and soft drinks.

The report said, “In January, the Consumer Price Index, which
measures inflation, rose by 8.2 per cent (year-on-year), 0.2 percentage
points from 8.0 per cent recorded in December.

“All major divisions that contribute to the index increased during the
period. Food prices measured by the food sub-index held at roughly
the same pace of increase in January as in December, while on the
aggregate, upward pressure on the headline index was largely as a
result of increasing divisions that contribute to the core sub-index.

“Most groups that contribute to the food sub-index increased at a
faster pace during the month. This was countered however by slower
rises in the fish, fruit, coffee, tea, cocoa and soft drinks groups.”

For the urban index, the report stated that this increased by 0.3
percentage points to 8.2 per cent in January, while rural prices as
recorded by the Rural All Items Index increased marginally from eight
per cent in December to 8.1 per cent in January.

On a month-on-month basis, both the urban and rural indices recorded
the same pace of increase in January – 0.8 per cent, according to the
report.