Nigeria: Inflation increases to 20-month high at end 2019
Consumer prices increased 0.85% on a month-on-month basis in December, down from November’s 1.02% rise. The moderation was chiefly driven by slower growth in food prices.
Meanwhile, inflation ticked up from 11.9% in November to 12.0% in December, the highest reading since April 2018. Thus, it climbed further above the Central Bank’s target range of 6.0%–9.0%. For its part, annual average inflation held steady at 11.4% in December.
Moreover, core consumer prices, which exclude volatile agricultural produce, rose 0.81% month-on-month in December, slightly above November’s 0.79% increase. Core inflation climbed to 9.3% from 9.0% in the previous month.