Inflation Hits 11.8 Per cent

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says inflation rate stood at 11.8 per cent in December.

  It said in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, that the figure was lower than the 12.8 per cent recorded in November.

According to the statement, the Composite Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up by 1.29 per cent to 114.2 points compared with 112.8 observed in November.

The statement attributed the increase in the index mainly to the increase in the prices of some food items such as meat, fish, oil and fat, vegetables and fruits.

It added that the food prices rose by 0.9 per cent compared with  0.3 per cent recorded in November.

The statement said the level of the composite food index was higher than the corresponding level a year ago by 12.7 per cent.

“The average annual rate of rise of the index was 14.7 per cent for the 12-month period ending December 2010,” it stated.

It said the Urban All Items Index recorded a marginal increase of 0.4 per cent while rural index fell by 2.0 per cent over the period when compared with their preceding months.

According to the statement, the average consumer price level as at December for urban and rural dwellers rose by 10.7 per cent and 12.7 per cent respectively.

“The corresponding 12-month average per cent change for urban and rural indices rose by 11.0 per cent and 15.4 per cent respectively,’’ the statement added.