The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday reported that Nigeria’s Composite Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, dropped marginally to 17.93 percent year-on-year (YoY) in May 2021 from 18.12% recorded in the preceding month.
The May rate represented 0.19% points lower than the rate recorded in April
The official statistical data producing and publishing agency indicated that the drop in the headline inflation in the month under review was the second consecutive month that a decline would be recorded in the rate this year.
The NBs reported that “the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending May 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 15.50 percent, showing a 0.46 percent point rise from 15.04 percent recorded in April 2021.
“The corresponding twelve-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 16.09 percent in May 2021. This is higher than 15.63 percent reported in April 2021, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in May 2021 is 14.94 percent compared to 14.48 percent recorded in April 2021”, the Bureau added.
According to the Bureau, food inflation, which has been largely responsible for the rising rate in recent months, dropped from 22.78% recorded in April 2021 to 22.28% in May 2021.
The NBS further clarified: ‘‘All items less farm produce which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 13.15% in May 2021, up by 0.41% when compared with 12.74% recorded in April 2021.
‘‘The highest increases were recorded in prices of Pharmaceutical products, Garments, Shoes and other footwear, Hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishments, Furniture and furnishing, Carpet and other floor covering.
‘‘Others include, Motor cars, Hospital services, Fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, Cleaning, repair and hire of clothing, Other services in respect of personal transport equipment, Gas, Household textile, and Non-durable household goods.’’
A further decomposition of the CPI based on urban and rural trends indicated that the urban inflation rate increased by 18.51 percent (year-on-year) in May 2021 from 18.68 percent recorded in April 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased by 17.36 percent in May 2021 from 17.57 percent in April 2021.
The NBS further clarified that on a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.04 percent in May 2021, up by 0.05 percentage points compared to the rate recorded in April 2021 (0.99), while the rural index rose by 0.98 percent in May 2021, up by 0.03 points compared to the rate that was recorded in April 2021 (0.95 percent).
