Nigerian inflation accelerated for the fourth straight
month in December as food prices continued climbing due to border closures.
Consumer prices rose 12% from a year earlier, compared
with 11.9% in November, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in a
report published Friday on its website. Costs rose 0.85% in the month. The
median of five economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey was 12.1%.
Key Insights
Inflation has now been above the 9% upper end of the
central bank’s target band for more than four years. It shows little sign of
cooling as there is no clear indication yet from the government when borders
with Nigeria’s neighbors, which were shut in August to curb smuggling, will be
reopened for trade.
While central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said in
November the impact of the border closures on inflation is temporary,
food-price growth quickened to 14.7% in December from 14.5%.
The persistently high rate of price growth means the
central bank will probably keep its key interest rate at 13.5% next week.
Emefiele said in a December speech the tight policy stance would continue in
the view of rising inflation expectations.
— With assistance by
Simbarashe Gumbo
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