From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
For the first time in 11 months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), yesterday, reported that inflation has eased to 21.34 per cent in December from an all-time high of 21.47 per cent in November, 2022.
The December report shows a decline of 0.13 per cent when compared to November 2022 inflation rate.
However, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.72 percentage points higher, compared to the rate recorded in December 2021, which was 15.63 per cent.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate increased in the month of December 2022 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., December 2021).
“On a month-on-month basis, the percentage change in the All Items Index in December 2022 was 1.71 per cent, which was 0.32 per cent higher than the rate recorded in November 2022 (1.39 per cent). This means that in the month of December 2022, the general price level was 0.32 per cent higher relative to November 2022.
“The percentage change in the average Composite Price Index (CPI) for the twelve months ending December 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 18.85 per cent, showing 1.89 per cent increase compared to the 16.95 per cent recorded in December 2021.
“The increases were recorded in all Classifications of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index most especially in food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and miscellaneous goods and services,” the bureau said.
In his reaction, President, Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria and a former Commissioner for Finance in Imo State, Professor Uche Uwaleke, attributed the deceleration to the impact of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), monetary policy tightening.
According to him, the policy will linger and result in further disinflation in the coming months.
“Although headline inflation came lower in December compared to November on year on year basis, the usual demand pressure associated with the festive season was evident when viewed on month-on-month basis.
“It’s equally not surprising to note that core inflation increased in December 2022 relative to the previous month which may be due in part to the pass-through of higher exchange rates on imported items such as clothing, furniture, and other commodities usually in high demand during the Christmas period.