Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 24.48 per cent for January, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), creating uncertainty around the future of interest rates.
This comes after the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to better reflect changes in consumption patterns.
The National Bureau of Statistics, which announced the rebasing last month, noted that consumption patterns had shifted significantly since the last update and that 2024 would now serve as the new base year for calculating inflation.
The previous inflation release for December reported an annual rate of 34.80%, with the NBS attributing the increase to higher demand for goods and services during the festive season.
However, the larger trend shows that inflation has risen sharply following President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove costly subsidies and devalue the naira.
The reforms were implemented to strengthen public finances and stimulate economic growth.
However, many Nigerians contend that the changes have only pushed more people into poverty, with no significant positive economic turnaround recorded.
Food inflation, which makes up more than 50% of Nigeria’s old inflation basket, eased slightly to 39.84% in December, down from 39.93% the previous month.
