- The Nigerian energy sector experienced 16.8% inflation in October 2022.
- The persistent naira depreciation contributes immensely to the current inflation.
According to the October 2022 consumer price index (CPI) and inflation report from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (energy) inflation rate rose to 16.8% for October 2022, the highest rate since March 2017, when the rate stood at 18.9%.
The inflation rate for this category increased to 16.8% in October 2022 from 16.4% in September 2022 and 10.4% in the corresponding period of 2021. Nairametrics had reported that Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to a new record high of 21.09% in October 2022, marking 0.32% points increase from 20.77% recorded in the previous month.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) noted that the urban consumer price index increased from 16.1% to 17.4% to 15.7%, respectively, while the rural consumer price index rose from 17.8%.
NBS also reported an increase in the cost of importation due to the constant currency (Naira) depreciation. In addition, a general rise in production prices could have impacted increased inflation rates over recent years.