Nigeria’s inflation rate soared to 33.20% in March 2024, reflecting a substantial uptick from the previous month’s figure of 31.70%.
The report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS’s Consumer Price Index raises alarms about the country’s ongoing struggle with inflationary pressures, posing significant challenges for consumers.
“Looking at the movement, the March 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.50% points when compared to the February 2024 headline inflation rate.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.16% points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2023, which was 22.04%.
“On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March 2024 was 3.02%, which was 0.10% lower than the rate recorded in February 2024. This means that in the month of March 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is less than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2024,” the NBS noted.
The inflation report by the NBS followed the hike of Nigeria’s interest rate from 22.75% to 24.75% by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s inflation rises to 31.7% in February, NBS
The March inflation rate was released at a time when measures by the apex bank to strengthen the naira against foreign exchange have seen some positive results.
The naira has appreciated against the dollar in recent weeks, gaining over 40%, from about N1,900/$ to about N1,100/$1 now.
Despite the naira’s recovery, Nigerians anticipated a notable decrease in the prices of essential goods and food items. However, the reality remains starkly different, as the cost of living continues to soar, disappointing many.
Credible News.ng
