By Hosea Parah, Abuja

Inflation in Nigeria continued to surge in October 2023, with the headline inflation rate reaching 27.33% on a year-on-year basis. This represents an increase of 0.61% points compared to the previous month’s rate of 26.72%. Furthermore, the October 2023 inflation rate was 6.24% points higher than the rate recorded in October 2022, which stood at 21.09%.

The rise in the headline index was primarily attributed to increases in various divisions, including Food and non-alcoholic Beverages (14.16%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & other Fuel (4.57%), Clothing & Footwear (2.09%), Transport (1.78%), Furnishings & Household Equipment and maintenance (1.37%), Education (1.08%), and Health (0.82%). Other contributing factors were Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.45%), Restaurants & Hotels (0.33%), Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco & Kola (0.30%), Recreation & Culture (0.19%), and Communication (0.19%).

However, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate for October 2023 stood at 1.73%, indicating a slower rate of increase compared to the preceding month’s rate of 2.10%.

The Food sub-index experienced a significant increase, reaching 31.52% on a year-on-year basis in October 2023. This represents a 7.80% points rise compared to the rate recorded in October 2022 (23.72%). The surge in Food inflation was driven by price increases in Bread & cereals, Oil & fat, Potatoes, Yam & other Tubers, Fish, Fruit, Meat, Vegetables, and Milk, Cheese, and Eggs. However, on a month-on-month basis, Food inflation decreased to 1.91% in October 2023, down by 0.54% compared to September 2023, primarily due to lower average prices of Fruits, Oil and fat, Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, Bread, and Cereals.

The Core inflation rate, which excludes volatile farm produce and Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), stood at 22.58% on a year-on-year basis in October 2023. This represents a rise of 5.12% compared to the rate recorded in October 2022 (17.46%). The highest increases within the Core inflation basket were observed in prices of Passenger Transport by Road, Medical Services, Passenger Transport by Air, Actual and Imputed Rentals for Housing, and Pharmaceutical products. On a month-on-month basis, the Core Inflation rate slowed down to 1.39% in October 2023, a decrease of 0.83% compared to September 2023.

The Urban consumer’s inflation rate stood at 29.29% on a year-on-year basis in October 2023, indicating a significant rise of 7.66% points compared to the corresponding month in 2022 (21.63%). On a month-on-month basis, the Urban inflation rate grew by 1.81% in October 2023, a decrease of 0.43% points compared to September 2023.

Likewise, the Rural consumer’s sub-index rose to 25.58% on a year-on-year basis in October 2023, marking a 5.01% increase compared to October 2022 (20.57%). On a month-on-month basis, the Rural sub-index recorded a growth