Nigeria: Inflation slows marginally in December

In December, consumer prices increased 0.59% on a month-on-month basis, below November’s 0.78% growth. December’s reading marked a fresh over two-year low following a downward trend observed since February 2017. The moderation was broad-based including slowing in food and non-farm produce prices.

Inflation came in at 15.4% in December, the lowest level since April 2016 and below November’s 15.9%. Despite moderating significantly over the course of last year (January 2017: 18.7%), inflation in Nigeria remains well above the Central Bank’s target range of 6.0%–9.0%.

Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile agricultural produce, grew 0.50% in December, notably below the 0.80% reported in the previous month. Meanwhile, core inflation dipped to the lowest rate in five months at the end of the year, coming in at 12.6% in December compared to November’s 12.7%.

Nigeria Inflation Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 12.4% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast. In 2019, inflation is seen averaging 10.0%.