Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 9.0 per cent in May against the 9.1 per cent recorded in April, Dr Yemi Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation said.
Kale, in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, said that this indicated that year-on-year rate still held below single digit as observed since the beginning of the year.
The statement said that the Composite Price Index (CPI), which measures the inflation rate, showed that the Core Sub-index continued to show a muted rise due to base effects.
“The year-on-year muted changes for the rest of the year in the Core Index may be sustained until the end of the year due to substantially higher price levels this time last year.
“As stated in the April 2013 CPI Report, the year-on-year changes in the Core Index for the rest of the year are likely to be muted as a result of substantially higher price levels this time last year.
“The increase in food prices captured by the Food Sub-index, while significant, are also lower year-on-year.
“Through the first five months of 2013, the Food Sub-index averaged 10.0 per cent, 1.8 per cent lower than rates recorded during the same period last year,’’ it stated
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), relative to April, the rise in the Headline Index could be attributable to higher prices in all 12 COICOP divisions.
“Higher prices were also reflected in the Food and Core Sub-indices. All divisions (except the food and non-alcoholic beverages) rose faster than levels exhibited in April.
“This is also reflected in the faster month-on-month rates in the Core Sub Index in May vis-à-vis April. On the other hand, the Food Sub-index indicates a slower rate of increase in food prices in May relative to April”, it added.
The bureau said that in May, the Composite CPI increased by a faster rate than the figure recorded in the preceding month as the index increased by 0.67 per cent compared to the 0.5 per cent recorded in April.
It said that the Urban Composite CPI was recorded at 144.5 points in May, a 9.4 per cent year-on-year change which was lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in April.
“Similarly, the Rural National CPI recorded an 8.6 per cent year-on-year change, lower than the 8.9 per cent posted in April by 0.3 percentage points.
“The Urban All-item Index increased in May by 0.6 per cent roughly the same rate as recorded in the preceding month on a month-on-month basis, while the Rural All Items Index increased from levels recorded in April by 0.5 per cent.’’
The NBS further said that the percentage change in the average Composite CPI for the 12-month period ending in May 2013 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12-month period was recorded at 10.8 per cent.
It said that the corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the Urban Index was 12.6 per cent, while the corresponding Rural Index was 9.5 per cent.
It said that the Composite Food Index increased year-on-year by 9.3 per cent to 146.4 points in May, representing 0.7 percentage points lower than the 10.0 per cent recorded in April.
The NBS said that food index increased by 0.5 per cent between April and May as food prices continued to exhibit increases across all classes in the Food Sub-index largely due to dwindling supplies in the face of a relatively stable demand.
It attributed the increase to meats, oils and fats, potatoes, yams and other tuber classes whose prices rose the highest in the month under review.
The statement said “all items less farm produce” or Core Index, which excluded the prices of volatile agricultural products, increased by 6.2 per cent year-on-year in May, a rate which was lower than the 6.9 per cent recorded in the preceding month by 0.7 percentage points.
This, according to NBS, indicated the third consecutive month of muted year-on-year changes in the Core Sub-index due to base effects.
