National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday, said that the inflation rate in December, 2021 increased by 15.63 per cent as against November’s 15.40 per cent.
This was against bookmakers’ prediction that December inflation would follow the deceleration trend which had been the order since March, 2021.
Nigeria’s inflation rate had maintained a consecutive decline in the year-on-year headline inflation rate for a period of eight months, from the month of April 2021 with an interesting trajectory as follows: April (18.12 per cent), May (17.93 per cent), June ( 17.75 per cent), July (17.38 per cent), August 17.01 per cent), September (16.63 per cent), October (15.99 per cent), and November (15.40 per cent).
Speaking when he released the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the inflation rate, the Statistician General of the Federation, Dr Simon Harry, said that the rate broke the eight months trend of decline.
“However, it may interest you to note that this trend has been broken by the slight change in the month of December, 2021 as the inflation rate for all items (headline inflation) for the month increased to 15.63 per cent, year-on-year. Although, this is a decline when compared to the corresponding month in 2020 which recorded 15.75 per cent. This trend clearly shows an increase from 15.40 per cent recorded in the month of November, 2021 to 15.63 per cent in December, 2021.