NBS: Inflation rate rises by 0.2%

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday said that inflation rate has risen by 0.2 per cent compared to the inflation rate in May.
This is contained in the June 2015 Consumer Price Index (CPI)/ Inflation Report issued from the NBS in Abuja.
CPI measures the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living
The report said that CPI, which measured inflation, rose by 9.2 per cent (year-on-year) 0.2 percentage points from the 9.0 per cent rate recorded in May.
It said the faster pace of the Headline Index was a result of bottlenecks observed during the period which resulted in the rise of major Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) Divisions.
Headline Index is made up of the Core Index and Farm Produce items.
Processed foods are included in both the core and food sub-indices; meaning that these sub-indices are not mutually exclusive.
The report said that the bottlenecks observed during the period affected major COICOP division such as food and non-alcoholic beverages and transportation increasing at a faster pace during the period.
“Through the first six months of the year, the Headline index has increased by 8.6 per cent, 0.7 percentage points higher from rates recorded during the corresponding period in 2014.
“Irregularity of the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) continues to impact food prices.
“The Food Sub-index rose by 10.0 per cent (year-on-year) in June, up by 0.2 percentage points from 9.8 per cent in May.
“On a year-on-year basis, all groups which contribute to the food sub-index increased at a faster pace during the reporting period.
“It increased as faster rate during the period with the exception of oils and fats; and potatoes, yams and tubers groups which increased albeit at a slower pace,’’ it stated.
Also, the report stated that the pace of advances recorded by the “All Items less Farm Produce” or Core sub-index edged was higher in June.
“In June, both the urban and rural price indices increased at a faster pace relative to May.
“The urban index increased by 9.2 per cent, up marginally from 9.1 per cent in May, while the Rural index increased by 9.1 per cent, 0.2 percentage points higher than 8.9 per cent in May.
“On a month-on-month basis, both the urban and rural indices increased by 0.9 per cent from 1.1 per cent recorded in May.
“The percentage change in the average composite Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the twelve month period ending in June.
“The percentage changed over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period was 8.4 per cent, marginally higher from the 8.3 per cent rate recorded in May.
“The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban and rural indices edged higher from May to 8.5 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively,’’ it said.
Meanwhile, the report stated that supply side challenges continued to have an adverse impact on food prices.
“In addition to limited Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supply, the late rains and implicitly late harvest have failed to weigh on food prices.
“Ironically, vegetables in particular become less available as precipitation begins, which increases the upward pressure on the food sub-index.
“The Food Sub-index rose by 10.0 per cent (year-on-year) in June, up by 0.2 percentage points from 9.8 per cent in May.
“On a month-on-month basis, the Food Sub-index increased by 1.1 per cent, maintaining the high pace of increase recorded in May.
“The highest price increases were recorded in the, vegetables, fish, bread and cereals; and potatoes, yam and other tubers, groups,’’ it stated.
It said that the twelve month rate of change had held at the same pace a year.
“The pace of increases recorded on the `all items less farm produce’ or core sub-index, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce increased at a faster pace for the sixth consecutive month.
“The largest increases were recorded in the fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment,’’ the report said.
The report, however, listed items in the fuels and lubricants to include PMS; Liquid Fuel (Kerosene), Solid Fuels (Charcoal), Maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment; and Passenger transport by road groups.
‘`The average 12 month annual rate of rise of the index was recorded at 7.0 per cent for the twelve-month period ending in June 2015, unchanged from the 12 month rate recorded in May,’’ it added