December 2024 inflation rate rises to 34.80%
Orisemeke Benjamin
The nation’s inflation rate witnessed a slight increase in December 2024, rising to 34.80 per cent according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In its Consumer Price Index report, the NBS said the rate represents a marginal growth of 0.20 per cent compared with 34.60 per cent reported in November 2024.
The increase was primarily driven by the increased demand for goods and services during the festive season.
On the year-to-year basis, the NBS report showed that the headline inflation which stood at 34.80 per cent in December last year rose by 5.87 per cent compared with 28.92 per cent recorded December, 2023.
This shows that the Headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in December 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year.
This year-on-year increase also indicates a significant rise in the cost of living compared to the same month in the previous year.
On the contrary, the month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate in December 2024 was 2.44 per cent which was 0.20 per cent lower than the rate recorded in November 2024 which was 2.64 per cent.
This means that in December 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is slightly lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in November 2024.
Further analysis showed that in the month of November 2024, the Headline inflation rate was 34.60 relative to the October 2024 headline inflation rate of 33.88 per cent. Looking at the movement, the November 2024 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.72 per cent points compared to the October 2024 rate.
On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate was 6.40 per cent points higher than 28.20 per cent recorded in November 2023.
This shows that the inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in November 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year.
However, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in November 2024 was 2.638 per cent, which was 0.002 per cent points lower than 2.640 per cent recorded in October 2024. This means that in November 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is slightly lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in October 2024.
