Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 32.70% in September 2024, up from 32.15% in August, driven largely by the recent hike in fuel prices. This was revealed in the latest Consumer Price Index and Inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.
The report highlighted a month-on-month increase of 0.55 percentage points in the inflation rate, indicating a continued rise in the cost of goods and services. On a year-on-year basis, inflation was up by 5.98 percentage points compared to the 26.72% recorded in September 2023.
“This means that in September 2024, the average price level rose at a faster pace compared to August 2024,” the NBS report noted.
The inflation spike was partly fueled by a rise in petrol prices, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased fuel prices twice in September—from ₦600 to ₦897 per liter. This directly impacted transportation costs, which in turn drove up the prices of goods and services across the country.
Food inflation also surged, reaching 37.77% in September from 37.52% in August. The rise in transportation costs, triggered by higher fuel prices, significantly contributed to this increase, as food distribution became more expensive.
September’s inflation spike comes after a brief period of declining inflation in July and August 2024. In response to rising inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria raised the country’s interest rate by 50 basis points to 27.25% at its 297th Monetary Policy Meeting in September, in a bid to curb further inflationary pressures.
