Our reporter/ The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the weekend said with the moderation in the month-on-month headline inflation, which slowed for a third time in a row in May 2024, its monetary policy tightening measures enacted this year amid mounting inflationary pressures are yielding the desired impact on the economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and commodities decelerated in May to 2.14 per cent compared to 2.29 per cent in April, and 3.02 per cent in March.However, headline inflation further increased to 33.95 per cent in May compared to 33.69 per cent the previous month.
Also, year-on-year, food inflation reached 40.66 per cent in May, an increase of 15.84 per cent compared to 24.82 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.Month-on-month, food inflation dropped to 2.28 per cent compared to 2.50 per cent in April.
Reacting to the development, the apex bank’s deputy governor in charge of the economic policy directorate, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, said, “Slowly but surely, the inflation tide is turning.”
“While the numbers are not yet uniform for all measures, such as year-on-year across the entire country, we will continue to work diligently with coordinated policy measures to ensure that the worst of the inflationary cycle is behind us in the nearest future,” he added.
According to a statement ny the apex bank, the monthly inflation rate had declined from as high as 3.12 per cent in February, reflecting a slowdown in price increases for essential goods, adding that food inflation also fell for a third consecutive month to 2.28 per cent in May, from 2.50 per cent in April, and 3.79 per cent in February.
CBN maintained that the monthly inflation trend underscored conviction from members of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that a combination of tighter monetary policy and appropriate coordinated fiscal measures from the federal government would prove effective in arresting the sharp increase in the cost of living that has afflicted Nigerians since the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic.
According to the CBN, while year-on-year inflation had continued to inch higher “it is the monthly numbers that are the all-important indicators isolating the impact since the CBN began raising interest rates in February this year.”
The apex bank stressed that the CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso had made inflation tackling his paramount mission the essential path to achieving sustainable economic growth in the mid-term to long-term as well as improving the standard of living of ordinary Nigerians.
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