Inflation up by 8.7%, GDP down 2.08% in Q1 – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday released the Consumer Price Index for the month of April, with the country’s inflation rate rising to a 22-month high of 8.7 per cent.

The bureau in its latest report, said the 8.7 per cent inflation figure was 0.2 percentage point higher than the 8.5 per cent recorded in the month of March.

The report attributed the rise in inflation to increase in the prices of potatoes, yams and other tubers, as well as fats, breads and cereals groups.

The report read in part, “In April, the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, rose by 8.7 per cent (year-on-year), 0.2 percentage points from the 8.5 per cent rate recorded in March.

“This is the fifth consecutive month of a faster increase in the headline index to reach the highest inflation rate recorded for the year.”

Also in the report, the NBS said Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2015 declined from 5.94 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter of last year to 3.86 per cent.

It stated that in nominal terms, the aggregate GDP stood at N21.04tn at basic prices in the first quarter, compared with the opening quarter of 2014’s value of N20.16tn, indicating 4.32 per cent higher, whereas relative to the preceding quarter’s value of N24.205tn, the nominal growth was lower by 13 per cent.

It stated, “In the opening quarter of 2015, Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.86 per cent in real terms year-on-year. This was lower by 2.25 per cent points from the preceding quarter and by 1.98 per cent points from the corresponding quarter of 2014. Quarter-on-quarter, real GDP was lower by 11.57 per cent.

“Depressed global oil prices, as well as challenges in supply in Nigeria prevailed over the period of review. Oil production stood at 2.18 million barrels per day in Q1 of 2015, remaining at the same level as it had done in the preceding quarter.”

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