NBS August CPI shows mild disinflation but food inflation persists at 19.6%
Nigeria's August consumer price index report from the National Bureau of Statistics shows headline inflation edging down to 15.39% year-on-year (from 15.43% in July) and 0.71% month-on-month (from 1.57%). Core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy, stood at 13% year-on-year with a 0.06 percentage point monthly decline. However, food inflation remains elevated at 19.57% annually and rose to 1.79% month-on-month in August, contributing 6.16 percentage points to headline inflation. Urban inflation decelerated to 0.28% monthly while rural inflation accelerated, highlighting a growing divide where lower-income households outside cities may not feel the national improvement. The Premium Times columnist argues against premature monetary easing despite the disinflation signals, citing ongoing Gulf war-driven energy price pressures and worsening food security. Instead, the focus should shift to boosting agricultural productivity through farm security, better storage, improved market access, and rural logistics—since disinflation aids investment planning but doesn't justify untargeted fiscal expansion when food costs keep rising.