FBNQuest has predicted that Nigeria’s headline inflation is likely to further rise to 22.15per cent in February from 21.82per cent in January. The firm, which stated this in a recent note, said its projection was based on the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) publication of its latest price watch series, which point to a further increase in inflation in February.

The firm stated: “The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has followed up its release of the January inflation numbers with the publication of its price watch series. These reports provide data on the price trends of some key products within the inflation basket. The latest inflation reading for January showed that inflation resumed its upward trend.

The headline inflation reading increased by 47bps to 21.82 per cent y/y in January, driven by increases of 56bps and 66bps in food and core inflation to 24.32 per cent y/y and 19.16 per cent y/y. “In the NBS selected food price watch for January, we see that 42 food items surveyed recorded y/y price increases. Food prices increased by 24 per cent on average. “Despite significant credit interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the agriculture sector, the sector’s growth has been subpar due to well-known structural factors like insecurity, poor infrastructure, and low mechanisation.” It further said: “Another major factor contributing to the soaring food prices is the passthrough effect of rising fuel prices on transportation costs. “For core inflation, some of the key pressure points were from the prices of fuels. The Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price watch shows that the average price paid by consumers increased by 25 per cent m/m and 55 per cent y/y to N257/litre.”