The rate at which prices of goods and services rise, increased in the month of September, albeit at a slower rate as data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that inflation stood at 20.77 per cent compared to 20.52 which was recorded in August.
Inflation figures released by the NBS also showed that food inflation which was at 23.12 per cent in August rose by 22 basis points to 23.34 per cent year on year.
The latest inflation figure of 20.77 per cent is 4.14 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2021, which was 16.63 per cent. This indicates that in the month of September 2022 the general price level was 4.14 per cent higher relative to September 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September 2022 was 1.36 per cent, this was 0.41 per cent lower than the 1.77 per cent recorded in August 2022.
According to NBS, the percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve-month period ending September 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve month period was 17.43 per cent, showing a 0.60 per cent increase compared to 16.83 per cent recorded in September 2021.
The NBS noted that, over the past two months, there has been a decline in headline inflation on a month-on-month basis due to a decline in the changes in the food index relative to the reference month index which is due to the present harvest season.
It noted further that factors responsible for increase in the annual inflation rate include disruption in the supply of food products, increase in import cost due to the persistent currency depreciation and general increase in the cost of production.
On a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate was 21.25 per cent which was 4.06 per cent higher compared to the 17.19 per cent recorded in September 2021. On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 1.46 per cent in September 2022, this was a 0.34 per cent decline compared to 1.79 per cent in August 2022.
The corresponding twelve-month average for the urban inflation rate was 17.94 per cent in September 2022. This was 0.53 per cent higher compared to the 17.41 per cent reported in September 2021.
Likewise, the rural inflation rate in September 2022 was 20.32 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 4.24 per cent higher compared to 16.08 per cent recorded in September 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in September 2022 was 1.27 per cent, down by 0.48 per cent compared to 1.75 per cent in August 2022.
The corresponding twelve-month average for the rural inflation rate in September 2022 was 16.94 per cent. This was 0.68 per cent higher compared to the 16.26 per cent recorded in September 2021.
