Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 27.33 per cent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics disclosed on Wednesday.

This is a 0.61 percentage point from the 26.72 per cent that was recorded in September.

In its Consumer Price Index (October 2023) that was released on Wednesday, the NBS stated, “In October 2023, the headline inflation rate increased to 27.33 per cent relative to the September 2023 headline inflation rate which was 26.72 per cent.

“Looking at the movement, the October 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.61 percentage points when compared to the September 2023 headline inflation rate.

“Furthermore, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.24 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2022, which was (21.09 per cent). This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in October 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., October 2022).”

Major contributors to the increase in inflation were food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity gas and other fuel, clothing and footwear, transport, and furnishings and household equipment and maintenance.

The continued rise in inflation has been attributed to the removal of petrol subsidies and the devaluation of the official exchange rate.

In its recent forecast for the year, KPMG predicted that Nigeria’s headline inflation may rise to 30 per cent by December 2023 because of fuel subsidy removal, and the unification of the foreign exchange market.