The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday said that inflation in Nigeria had dropped to 9% in the month of January.
According to its inflation report, the composite Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in Nigeria, showed a decline to 9.0 per cent year-on-year in January 2013, when compared to 12.0 per cent in December and year-on-year, the relative moderation in the headline index during in January was exhibited in declines in seven of the 12 divisions.
“The relative moderation of the headline index from 12.0 in December to 9.0 in January could be largely attributed to base effects- These are as a result of higher price levels in the previous year, which imply that the year-on-year changes exhibited this year will be muted.
“In particular, the Nigerian economy exhibited several shocks in January 2012. The partial repeal of the Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) subsidy led to increases in transportation costs as well as secondary effects, as the transportation costs affected both food and non-food prices,” the report stated.
The report added that food prices were slightly lower from levels exhibited in December, as the index declined by 0.1 percentage points from the 10.2 per cent exhibited in December to 10.1 per cent in January.
“On a month-on-month basis, the urban all-item index increased by 0.5 per cent in January from levels recorded in December, while the rural all items index increased by 0.73 per cent from December,” the report concluded.