Nigeria’s inflation rate rose slightly in September as higher fuel prices outweighed price cuts due to a good harvest. The acceleration reversed two months of slowing in the country’s inflation rate, which now stands at 32.70%. Inflation rate for October is due to be released on Friday, and analysts have predicted it to rise to figures around 33.5-34%.
Nigeria’s harvest season helped lower food prices, but flooding in key agricultural states such as Borno and rising transport costs due to high fuel prices erased the gains. The country’s failure to implement a 150-day waiver on food imports could also accelerate food inflation, which is already at 37.7%.
If the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports higher inflation rate in October, it will further heighten anxiety among Nigerians already experiencing their worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.
Whatever figures the NBS presents, the central bank is likely to keep its key interest rates on hold again. In September, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided on a surprise 50 basis point rate hike.
