By Joke Kujenya
NIGERIA’S INFLATION rate soared to 34.19% in June, reaching a 28-year high.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the data on Monday.
This marks the 19th consecutive month of rising inflation.
In May, the rate was 33.95%.
Reforms by President Bola Tinubu contributed to this surge.
Cutting petrol and electricity subsidies and devaluing the naira currency twice within a year have driven price increases.
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate has climbed for five straight months, highlighting a severe cost of living crisis.
The June figure is 0.24% higher than May’s 33.95%.
The lowest rate this year was 29.90% in January.
Compared to June 2023, when the rate was 22.79%, the headline inflation rate increased by 11.40 percentage points.
The NBS stated that the headline inflation rate for June 2024 rose by 2.31% on a month-on-month basis.
This is 0.17% higher than the 2.14% recorded in May 2024.
The increase in the average price level in June 2024 was higher than in May 2024.
Food inflation also surged in June 2024, rising to 40.87% on a year-on-year basis.
This is 15.62 percentage points higher than the 25.25% recorded in June 2023.
Nigeria’s inflation rate grew month-on-month by 0.17%, reaching 2.31% in June 2024 from 2.14% in May 2024.
This increase follows two broad-based declines since October 2023.
The NBS report highlighted that inflation was driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The continuous rise in inflation puts additional pressure on Nigerians already struggling with a high cost of living.
