…first drop in 15 months
The National Bureau of Statistics has announced that the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation rate, has dropped from 18.72 per cent in January 2017 to 17.78 per cent in February 2017.
The development, which translates to relief to consumers, indicates the rate’s first drop in 15 months.
Apart from the inflation report, the NBS also released four others. They are the cooking gas price watch, Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) price watch, kerosene price watch and diesel price watch.
While housing, electricity, gas and other fuels, education and alcoholic beverages, clothing and transportation services recorded accelerated price increases in the report, soft drinks, coffee and cocoa moderated during the period under review.
“The major divisions responsible for accelerating the pace of the increase in the headline index were housing, electricity, gas and other fuels, education and alcoholic beverage, clothing and transportation service,” the report indicated.
On a month-on-month basis, the NBS report stated that the headline index increased by 1.49 per cent in February, 0.48 percentage points higher from the rate of 1.01 recorded in January.
The report stated that the urban index rose by 18.57 per cent year-on-year in February from 20.31 per cent recorded in January, while the rural index increased by 16.98 per cent from 17.34 per cent in January.
In the cooking gas price watch report, the bureau said the average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder increased by 5.48 per cent month-on-month and 45.59 per cent year-on-year to N2,708.38 in February 2017 from N2,567.56 in January 2017.
It said the states with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas were Edo, N3,030; Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Zamfara, Rivers and Kebbi, N3,000; and Delta, N2,984.62.
In the PMS report, the bureau stated that the average price paid by consumers for petrol increased by 50.1 per cent year-on-year and 0.7 per cent month-on-month to N149.8 per litre in February from N148.7 in January.
For diesel, the report stated that the average price paid by consumers for the product increased by 3.68 per cent month-on-month and 68.74 per cent year-on-year to N249.38 in February from N240.52, the previous month.
In terms of kerosene, the NBS said the average price of the product paid by consumers increased by 31.34 per cent year-on-year to N352.42 per litre in February from N433.84 in January.
