The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported today that the nation’s inflation rate, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), slowed to 15.37 per cent in December down from 15.90 per cent recorded in the preceding month.
Its CPI Report for December 2017, the Bureau stated that the December rate represented the 11th consecutive disinflation (slowdown in the inflation rate though still positive) in headline year -on- year inflation since January last year.
The Bureau clarified further that increases were recorded in all the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yield the Headline Index.
A further decomposition of the month’s CPI showed that on a month-on-month basis, the Headline Index increased by 0.59 per cent in the month under review, representing 0.19 per cent points higher from the rate of 0.78 per cent recorded in November.
The agency also reported that the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve month period ending in December 2017 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve month period was 16.50 percent, indicating 0.26 percent point lower from 16.76 percent recorded in the preceding month.
On the urban inflation trend, the Bureau stated that urban inflation rate rose by 15.78 percent year-on-year in December from 16.27 percent recorded in November, compared to the rural inflation rate which eased by 15.02 percent in December from 15.59 percent in November.
“On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.66 percent in December, down by 0.19 from 0.85 percent recorded in November, while the rural index rose by 0.54 percent in December, down by 0.18 when compared with 0.72 percent in November.
“The corresponding twelve month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 16.92 percent in December.
“This is less than 17.26 percent reported in November 2017, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in December is 16.10 percent compared to 16.29 percent recorded in November 2017”, NBS added
