Inflation drops, foodstuff prices crash in Nigeria

The NBS also says inflation has dropped for the seventh consecutive month in 2017.

The NBS report, released on Friday, states that: “which measures inflation increased by 16.01% (year-on-year) in August 2017.

“This was 0.04% points lower than the rate recorded in July (16.05%) making it the seventh consecutive decline in the rate of headline year on year inflation since January 2017”.

Nigeria's inflation figures stood at 18.72% in January 2017 and 18.55% in December 2016.

The report from the NBS also says the price of foodstuff in various States of the federation, could be on the decline as well.

Foodstuff

According to Dr Yemi Kale who is Nigeria’s Statistician General, “In Delta, there was month on month drop in prices of dried mudfish, Garri, but rise in prices of Yam, Chicken feet, fresh mudfish, and beans in August 2017.

“In Edo, there was big month on month drop in prices of eggs, Chicken feet, rice, beef, Garri, but a rise in prices of Onions, Yam, mud fish, beans in August 2017.

In Ekiti, there was big month on month drop in prices of beef, rice, Garri, but rises in prices of peak milk, beans and sliced bread in August 2017”.

Dr Kale also said in August 2017, there was month on month drop in prices of eggs, yam, rice, Garri, but rises in prices of Chicken wings, bee, beans and unsliced bread in August 2017 for Sokoto.

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In Oyo there was a drop in prices of rice, Garri, mudfish, beef but rises in prices of milk and onions in the preceding month.

For Taraba, there was month on month drop in prices of mud fish, Garri and sliced bread but rises in prices of Beans, eggs and carnation milk in August 2017.

In Lagos, there was month on month drop in prices of rice, Chicken and milk, but rises in prices of brown beans, beef, onions and unsliced bread in August 2017, according to the NBS.

Domestic gas

Significantly, the numbers also show that “average national cooking gas (12.5kg) prices in August dropped to N4,042.85 from N5,345.57 in February and N4,374.16 in July; while average national Kerosene prices in August dropped significantly by 19.60% month on month to N225.52 from N352.42 in February and N280.49 in July".

The NBS announced that Nigeria had exited recession on September 5, 2017 following consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Africa’s biggest economy officially slipped into a recession in August 2016 following two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Sweet crude

The price of crude oil in the global market plunged from previous highs of $112 per barrel in 2014 (for instance) to $50 per barrel between January and July of 2016.

Nigeria’s fortunes dipped on the back of a plunge in oil price in the international market because crude oil sales account for 70 percent of government revenue.

However, latest figures from the nation’s statistics bureau indicated that Nigeria’s GDP grew by 0.55% in Q2 2017 compared to -0.91% (revised) in Q1 2017 and -1.49% in Q2 2016.

Relative stability in the restive Niger Delta region contributed to the upturn in the country’s economic fortunes.

According to the NBS, the oil sector was estimated to have averaged production levels of 1.84 million barrels per day, which is 0.15 million barrels higher than the daily average production recorded in the first quarter of June 2017

Quarter-on-quarter basis, real GDP growth was 3.23%.

The Muhammadu Buhari administration has promised to diversify the nation's economy away from crude oil.