Bureau Pegs Nigeria’s Inflation Rate At 21.1%

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says inflation rate stood at 12.1 per cent in January.

It said in a statement last Thursday in Abuja that the figure was higher than the 11.8 per cent recorded in December, 2010.

The statement said the Composite Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up by 1.20 per cent to 115.6 points compared with 114.2 points recorded in December.

lt attributed the increase mainly to the decline in the prices of some food items such as meat, fish, oi I and fat after the festive period.

The statement said the level of the composite food index was higher than the corresponding level a year ago by 10.3 per cent.

“The average annual rate of rise of the index was 14.2 per cent for the 12-month period ending January 2011,” it said.

The statement said the Urban All Items Index declined by 1.4 per cent while rural index increased by 3.3 per cent over the period when compared with the preceding months.

It said that the average consumer price level as at January for urban and rural dwellers rose by 7.9 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively.

“The corresponding 12-month average per cent change for urban and rural indices rose by 10.8 per cent and 15.3 per cent respectively,” the statement added.

It said prices of non-food items increased by 1.7 per cent in January compared with December of the same year, adding that the increase was mainly on building materials and kerosene as well as some household items.