Nigeria Inflation Rate Falls for First Month in Three in October

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s inflation rate declined for the first time in three months in October even as food-price growth accelerated.

The consumer-price index rose 11.26 percent from a year earlier compared with 11.28 percent in September, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for 11.4 percent. Prices increased 0.7 percent in the month.

Key Insights:

• Food prices climbed 13.3 percent from a year earlier, a third month of acceleration.
• Price growth in the West African nation has been above the central bank’s target band of 6 percent and 9 percent for more than three years.
• Inflation in Africa’s largest oil producer slowed for 18 straight months through July.
• Growth in consumer prices could average 12.4 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
• To keep a lid on inflation, the central bank has held its main lending rate at a record 14 percent since 2016.
• Late disbursements from this year’s budget of 9.1 trillion naira ($25 billion) and election-related spending before the February vote may quicken price growth, central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has said.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.