Inflation: Consumer prices in Nigeria fall for 7th consecutive month | Business and Economy News

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Falling food prices have caused Nigeria’s overall inflation rate to drop.

Nigeria continues to counter the global upward price trend, with consumer prices falling for the seventh consecutive month, government figures showed on Monday.

Nigeria’s inflation rate fell to 15.99 percent in October from the same period last year, and was 0.64 percent lower than the annualized figure for September, the national statistics office said. from the country.

The drop in the overall rate is explained by the reduction in annual food inflation, with prices falling from 19.5% in September to 18.3% in October.

“Internal factors seem to be at the root of the drop in pressure on food prices; the inflation of imported food products remained stable ”, noted Monday Capital Economics Virag Forizs in a customer note.

The downward trend, analysts say, should give the country’s policymakers enough room to keep interest rates stable when they meet next week, rather than being forced to raise them to curb the rate. rising prices – a move that could also weigh on economic growth in Africa’s largest economy.

Inflation has been above the central bank’s 6-9% target rate for years. Forizs said that while it is expected to continue falling over the next few months, inflation is unlikely to be within the central bank’s target range “any time soon.”

She added that the “increasingly distortive” exchange rules will continue to weigh on the country’s currency, the naira, which “will keep the inflation of imported products at a high level.”



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