Nigeria’s inflation rate increased by 0.09% in August, linked with OPEC Plus coalition

A new report from the National Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria has shown that the country recorded increase in the Consumer Price Index for August 2018. “The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 11.23 percent (year-on-year) in August 2018. This is 0.09 percent points higher than the rate recorded in July 2018 (11.14) percent and represents the first year on year rise in headline inflation following eighteenth consecutive disinflation in headline inflation.

“Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index.
On month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.05 percent in August 2018, down by 0.08 percent points from the rate recorded in July 2018 (1.13) percent).
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending August 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 13.55 percent, showing 0.4 percent point from 13.95 percent recorded in July 2018.”

The increase has ended the country’s 18 months consecutive dip in inflation rate. Information has it that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its alliance of 10 other oil states partnered to control oil output in January remains one of the factors which contributed to the surge. Since late 2016, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations, including Russia, Kazakhstan and Mexico, have managed the oil market, giving birth to a group popularly known as OPEC+. None of the countries within OPEC+, which accounts for more than half of the world’s oil output, have signaled plans to leave the alliance, an international news medium says.