Nigeria’s consumer price inflation rose in February after recording a fall in January as the nation faces fuel shortages that have helped push prices higher.
The rate of price increase between February 2021 and February 2022 was 15.70 percent, higher than the 15.60 percent recorded in January, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Tuesday.
The statistics office said the prices of goods and services, measured by the Consumer Price Index, fell 1.63 percent points lower than the rate recorded in February 2021 (17.33 percent).
According to the NBS, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oils and fats, and fruit.
Nigeria has faced fuel shortages since February after importing substandard fuel, resulting in weeks of severe scarcity and long queues at filling stations. The shortage has seen transport costs rise, thereby affecting goods and commodities.
Prices are expected to rise further amid a global shortage made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Without functional refineries, Africa’s largest oil producer relies almost entirely on imported fuel
Nigeria’s inflation has been in double digits since 2016. The Central Bank of Nigeria, which says its target range is between six percent and nine percent, has for months maintained interest rate at 11.5 percent in a bid to boost growth following the recession in 2020.
The bank will meet next Tuesday to set benchmark interest rates.
