Electricity Pre-paid meter

James Emejo 

Nigeria’s year-on-year headline inflation rose to 12.9 per cent in June from 12.7 per cent in the preceding month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Some financial market analysts had predicted 12.9 per cent inflation rate for June. The year-on-year change was partly blamed on the persistent increase in the prices of some farm produce including yam tubers as well as the increase in the electricity tariff.

The NBS, in its June 2012 Consumer Price Index (CPI) released yesterday however, noted that the huge increase in electricity index as well as increase in the cost of some other recreation and sporting and catering services among other miscellaneous services were not significantly reflected in the all items index due to their relatively small weights.

It however explained that the headline (all-items) index was made up of the Core and Farm Produce items, while Food index is made up of Farm Produce and Processed Foods, adding that Processed Foods are also included in the Core index which means that the Food and Core sub-indices are not mutually-exclusive due to the presence of Processed Food in both indices.

According to the NBS, the composite CPI was higher by 1.15 per cent when compared with May 2012 on a monthly basis while the urban inflation rate 15.0 per cent year-on-year. Rural inflation was 11.4 per cent for June.

The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve-month period ending June 2012 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period was 11.3 per cent while the corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for urban and rural indices was 11.1 and 11.6 respectively.

Moreover, the “All items less Farm Produce” index which exempts the prices of volatile agricultural products rose by 15.2 per cent year-on-year, while the average 12 month annual rate of rise of the index was 12.7 per cent for the twelve-month period ending June 2012.

It said: “The rise in the ‘Core’ index could be partly attributable to higher price levels in major classes that compose the index, such as Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels. On month-on-month basis, the core index increased by 1.0 per cent in June 2012. In June, the level of the Composite Food Index was higher than the corresponding level a year ago by 12.0 per cent.”