The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday announced the December 2021 inflation figures, reporting a 15.63% rise in inflation. This is a rise from the15.40% reported in November of the same year.
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry while briefing the media at the NBS Abuja office, said that the rate is 0.13% points lower than the rate recorded in December 2020 (15.75%).
Despite the slow down in inflation on a year-to-year basis, the data shows an increase on a month-to-month basis.
December figures shows that the headline inflation rose by 1.82% in December 2021.
Having hit 18.17% in April, the inflation figures has been on a decline since then until today’s data.
Speaking at the briefing, Harry said;
“However, it may interest you to note that this trend has been broken by the slight change in the month of December, 2021 as the inflation rate for all items for the month increased to 15.63 per cent, year-on-year.
“Although, this is a decline when compared to the corresponding month in 2020 which recorded 15.75 per cent.
“This trend clearly shows an increase from 15.40 per cent recorded in the month of November, 2021 to 15.63% in December, 2021.”
“This is 0.23 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in November, 2021.
He added that the change in the declining trend might have been caused by the increase in prices of goods and services driven by increased demand during the month under review, being a festive season.
The NBS said food inflation, which is the composite food index, rose by 17.37 per cent in December 2021, down by 2.19 per cent points when compared to 19.56 per cent in December 2020.
According to the NBS, this rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, meat, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, soft drinks and fruits.
It added that on a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 2.19 per cent in December 2021, up by 1.12 per cent points from 1.07 per cent recorded in November 2021.
Inflation is the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
