Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped in July for the first time in over a year, declining to 33.40% in annual terms (NGCPIY=ECI), opens new tab from 34.19% in June, data from the statistics agency showed on Thursday.
The decline in July will bring some relief to frustrated Nigerians, who protested this month over cost-of-living pressures and governance issues in Africa’s most populous nation.
Price pressures have been stoked by President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove a decades-old fuel subsidy, devalue the naira currency and hike electricity tariffs. The reforms are aimed at lifting economic growth and shoring up public finances but have sent inflation soaring, eroding people’s incomes.
The last month that annual inflation fell was December 2022.
The central bank has increased interest rates four times this year to try to get inflation under control, but after the last hike in July some analysts said that could be the final act in the bank’s hiking cycle.
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the biggest contributor to inflation in July.
Month on Month headline inflation rate in July 2024 was 2.28%.
Food Inflation rate was 39.53%.
