Nigeria’s inflation rate has surged to a new high, reaching 34.19% in June 2024, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This marks a 0.24 percentage point increase from the 33.95% inflation rate recorded in May 2024.

“In June 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 34.19% compared to the May 2024 rate of 33.95%. This reflects a 0.24 percentage point rise,” the NBS stated in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which tracks the average change over time in the prices of goods and services consumed by households.

Year-on-year, the headline inflation rate was 11.40 percentage points higher than the 22.79% rate recorded in June 2023. On a month-to-month basis, the headline inflation rate for June 2024 was 2.31%, up 0.17 percentage points from 2.14% in May 2024.

“This indicates that the rate of increase in average prices was higher in June 2024 compared to May 2024,” the NBS noted.

Food inflation also rose in June 2024, with a month-to-month rate of 2.55%, a 0.26 percentage point increase from 2.28% in May 2024. The rise in food inflation was driven by higher prices for items such as groundnut oil, palm oil, water yam, cocoyam, cassava, and various types of fish including catfish, croaker, and mudfish.

The increase in food costs and overall inflation reflects the broader economic challenges facing Nigeria, with rising prices putting additional pressure on households across the country.