Nigeria inflation drops in May but remains high

May’s uptick was broad-based, with prices rising for food and non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and footwear and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel, amongst other categories.

Inflation fell from 17.2% in April to 16.3% in May, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

However, inflation is still far above the Central Bank’s 6.0%-9.0% target range, where it has been since surging from the middle of last year as a result of electricity and fuel price hikes and a weak naira.

Core consumer prices, which exclude the prices of volatile agricultural produce, rose 1.2% in May (April: +1.1% month-on-month).

Lastly, core inflation fell from 14.8% in April to 13.0% in May.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists are currently assessing the latest developments, with a new forecast to be published on Tuesday 20 June. ■