TheCable

After 15 months on the rise, the consumer price index (CPI) which measures inflation rate in the Nigerian economy has been on the decline, dropping for the third consecutive month.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), inflation rate dropped to 17.24 percent (year-on-year) in April, declining by 0.02 percent from the figures recorded in March, 2017.

“This is the third consecutive month of a decline in the headline CPI rate, exhibiting effects of some easingin already high food and non-food prices, as well as favourable base effects over 2016 prices,” NBS said via its inflation report for April, 2017.

“Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yield the Headline Index.The top items to have recorded the highest year on year increases across all the divisions were Solid Fuels, Bread and Cereals, Meat, Liquid Fuels, Clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, and Fish.”

On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.60 percent in April 2017, 0.12 percent points lower than the rate recorded in March.

On this basis, the highest rise in prices were dominated by food items including coffee, tea and cocoa, potato, yam and tubers, bread and cereals, milk cheese and eggs and meat and fish.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s  Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)  aims to see inflation cut to about 15 percent by the end of 2017.