Nigerian March Inflation Hovers Above 11% as Food Prices Rise

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s inflation rate hovered above 11 percent in March as growth in food prices accelerated. Consumer prices in Africa’s largest oil producer rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier, matching the rate in March, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in a report published on its website Tuesday.

Key Insights

• Price risks could elevate in the first half due to a 67 percent increase in the national minimum wage passed by lawmakers. This still needs assent from the nation’s president, Muhammadu Buhari.
• The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee sees price growth moderating in the second half of the year. The regulator targets inflation in a range of 6 percent to 9 percent.
• Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said Africa’s biggest crude producer has no plans to remove its fuel subsidy in the immediate future because it doesn’t have buffers in place to cushion the inflationary impact it will have on its citizens, the Lagos-based Daily Trust reported Sunday. The International Monetary Fund has called for an end to the policy, which caps gasoline prices at 145 naira ($0.40) a liter, making it one of the 10 cheapest places in the world to fill up your tank, according to Globalpetrolprices.com.
• At the last MPC meeting, policymakers opted to cut rates for the first time in more than three years to help boost the economy.
• Prices rose 0.8 percent in the month.
• Food prices climbed 13.5 percent, driving the overall increases.