Nigeria’s inflation slips to 23.71% in April

Dear Subscriber

The CPI report for April was released yesterday, with headline inflation bucking its upward trend and falling modestly by 0.52% to 23.71%. For the first time in many months, all inflation parameters moved in the same direction — downwards. Particularly noteworthy is the sharp decline in month-on-month inflation, which dropped by 2.04% to 1.86% (24.32% annualized), from 3.90% (57.3% annualized). Bringing the gap between monthly and headline inflation to a negligible 0.61%.

Food and core inflation eased to 21.26% and 23.39%, respectively. One interesting phenomenon is that food inflation was highest in the food-producing states of Benue, Ekiti, and Kebbi. Ironically, it remained relatively low in states that are net consumers of food. This raises eyebrows amongst some analysts about data validity. That notwithstanding, there seems to be a trend of inflation slowing in Q2’25.

MPC set to pause rates again — Inflation retreats

The MPC, which last met 90 days ago, is scheduled to reconvene on May 19 and 20. Given the recent deceleration in inflation, the committee may seek to assess whether this decline is a sustainable trend or a one-off phenomenon. As a result, the MPC is likely to hold rates steady or implement a marginal reduction of 25bps.

In the download and link below, the FDC Think Tank shares its thoughts on the impact of April’s inflation numbers on the economy.

Enjoy your read…