….As Inflation Hits 18.72% in January
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that prices of goods and services across the nation rose by 0.17 per cent between December 2016 and January 2017 and that the inflation rate in January 2017 stood at 18.72 per cent.
The latest inflation rate shows that it has continued to grow, even as government recently claimed that there were indications that the economic recession was gradually abating.
However, the January figures showed that inflation increase was higher during the period compared with the 0.07 per cent increase recorded between November 2016 and December 2016. But the figure is far lower than the sharp increases recorded month-on-month during the first three-quarters of 2016.
Analysis of inflation rate in the last 12 months revealed that the highest increase recorded was a 1.9 per cent increase from 13.7 per cent in April 2016 to 15.6 per cent in May 2016.
Reasons for the increase
Meanwhile, the Bureau has attributed the faster pace of growth in headline inflation, month on month basis, to passenger transport by air, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, liquid fuels, cooking gas, oils and fats, fruits, Miké cheese and eggs, fish, meat, bread and cereals.
While year on year, inflation was recorded in the following products; bread and cereals, meat, fish, oils and fats, potatoes, yams and other tubers. Also included were wine and spirits, clothing materials and accessories, electricity, cooking gas, liquid and solid fuels, motor cars and maintenance Others are vehicle spare parts, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, including passenger transport by road
The Place of Fuel Price in Inflation
According to the NBS report, the average price for the refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, also known as cooking gas has increased by 28.24 per cent year-on-year and 39.39 per cent month-on-month to N2,567.56 in January 2017 from N2,002.16 in December 2016 according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
The report shows states with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder of LPG were Abuja (N2,800.00), Kano (N2,750.00) and Oyo (2,700.00) while states with the lowest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder of the product are Borno (N2,511.11), Akwa Ibom (N2,520.00) and Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Osun, Yobe and Zamfara (N2,500.00)
Similarly, Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), used by many Nigerians for cooking saw the average price per litre paid by consumers increase by 87.12 per cent year-on-year and 93.19 per cent month-on-month to N433.84 in January 2017 from N231.85 in December 2016.
NBS said the states with the highest average price per litre of kerosene were Sokoto (N647.62), Niger (N625.00) and Edo (560.19) while states with the lowest average price per litre of kerosene were Ogun (N324.44), Zamfara (N300.00) and Plateau (N270.00).
Industries were not spared the horror of inflation as the average price paid for Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) also known as diesel increased by 22.56 per cent year-on-year and 50.06 per cent month-on-month to N240.52 in January 2017 from N196.20 in December 2016.
According to NBS, states with the highest average price of diesel were Abuja and Bayelsa (N270), Delta (N256.77) and Cross River (256.36) while states with the lowest average price of diesel were Enugu (N230.78), Adamawa (N230.50) and Lagos, Oyo, Taraba (N230).
NBS also revealed that the average price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) increased by 35.7 per cent year-on-year and 1.35 per cent month-on-month to N148.7 in January 2017 from N146.7 in December 2016.
States with the highest average price of PMS according to NBS were Borno (N164.09), Oyo (N161.00) & Ebonyi (156.47) while states with the lowest average price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) were Kogi (N144.67), Ekiti and Imo (N144.64) and Abuja (N144.20).
