Nigerian inflation slowed for 11th month in Dec, at 15.37% – NBS

Annual inflation in Nigeria stood at 15.37 in December, 2017 compared with 15.90 per cent in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.

The nation’s inflation slowed for the 11th month in a row in to 15.37 per cent in December, 2017 from 15.90 per cent in November of the same year, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Dr. Yemi Kale said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Kale also said that a separate food price index showed inflation at 19.42 percent in December, down from 20.30 percent in November.

In October, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said he expected inflation rates to fall at a faster pace and reach the high single-digits by the middle of 2018.

The bank has kept its main interest rate at 14 percent for over a year now as it battles inflation and seeks to attract foreign investors to support the naira currency.

The government wants to see rates come down to lower its borrowing costs and stimulate the economy.

It would be recalled that the country  emerged from its first recession in 25 years in the second quarter of 2017 as oil revenues rose, although the slow pace of growth suggests the recovery remains fragile.