In July 2022, Nigeria’s inflation rate reached a 17-year high of 19.64%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for the month of July 2022.

The latest inflation data represents a 1.04 per cent increase from the 18.6% recorded in June 2022.

Nigeria’s inflation rate last exceeded 19.64% in September 2005, when it reached 24.32%. This is according to Nairalytics, a web portal that publishes historical macroeconomic data for Nigeria. 

Notably, increases in the food and core indexes drove the inflation rate up.

From a reading of 20.6% in June 2022, food inflation increased to 22.02%. The NBS claims that increases in the cost of bread and cereals, food items, potatoes, yams, and other tubers, as well as meat, fish, oil, and fat, are to blame for the rise in food inflation.

Also, core inflation, which excludes the price of erratic agricultural products, increased from 15.75% to 16.26% in July 2022.

Prices for gas, liquid fuel, solid fuel, passenger transport by road, passenger transport by air, garments, cleaning, repair, and clothing hire recorded the highest increase for the month of July.