(Ecofin Agency) - The slight increase spurred by the rate is explained by the increase in food inflation. On the other hand, core inflation was down 0.38 percent to 1.46 percent in April 2023.

In April 2023, Nigeria's headline inflation rose slightly to 22.22 percent month-to-month. According to the recent CPI index published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), last Monday (May 15), this is up by 0.18 percent compared to the 22.04 percent headline inflation recorded in March 2023.  

The NBS explains that the increase was spurred by food inflation. “The food inflation rate in April 2023 was 2.13%, this was 0.06% points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2023 (2.07%),” it stresses. Meanwhile, the core inflation rate was down 0.38%, going from 1.84% in March 2023 to 1.46% in April. 

Since December 2022 when its headline inflation rose to 21.34%, Nigeria has been recording near-stable rates. Its economy is still affected by global inflationary pressures as well as climate change. Nevertheless, since emerging from the recession in 2020, its GDP growth has been above 3 percent and is expected to remain within those boundaries over 2023-2025, per IMF forecasts. 

In 2022, its poverty rate was 62.9%. Should inflation continue to rise, residents’ purchasing power could be affected, exacerbating food insecurity.