Nigeria's Headline Inflation Rate Falls for First Time in Almost 2 Years

The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, declined by 0.8 percent compared to the 34.19 percent recorded in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

"This means that in July, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in June," the report read in part, noting that the development marked the first decline in headline inflation rate since December 2022.

On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in July was 9.32 percent higher than the rate recorded in July 2023, at 24.08 percent, according to the report. On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in July was 2.28 percent, some 0.03 percent lower than the rate recorded in June at 2.31 percent.

Last month, the Nigerian government attributed several factors, including the prevailing insecurity in food-producing areas and the high cost of transportation of farm produce, to the inflationary trend in the most populous African country.

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