The NBS in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for October released in Abuja yesterday indicates that the figure represents 0.61 per cent points higher compared to 26.72 per cent recorded in September 2023.
It said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in October was 6.24 per cent higher than the rate recorded in October 2022 at 21.09 per cent.
On a monthly basis, the rate of increase in inflation dropped by 0.37 per cent when compared to that of September.
The month-on-month inflation stood at 1.73 per cent which was lower when compared to the figure for September 2023 which was 2.10 per cent.
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Food continues to be the major driver of inflation as food inflation rose to 1.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
This represents 7.80 per cent points increase to the rate recorded in October 2022 (23.72 per cent).
The surge in year-on-year Food inflation was driven by price increases in various categories, including Bread and cereals, Oil and fat, Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers, Fish, Fruit, Meat, Vegetables, Milk, Cheese, and Eggs.
On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in October 2023 stood at 1.91 per cent, which is 0.54 per cent lower than the rate recorded in September 2023 (2.45 per cent).
This decline in month-over-month Food inflation can be attributed to a reduction in the rate of increase in the average prices of Fruits, Oil and fat, Coffee, Tea and Cocoa, Bread, and Cereals.
Food inflation by state revealed that Kogi state had the highest food prices with a food inflation rate at 41. 74 per cent), followed by Kwara (38.48 per cent) and Lagos (37.37 per cent).
On the other hand, Borno (24.41 per cent), Kebbi (24.90 per cent), and Jigawa (25.10 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a Year-on-Year basis.
Core inflation, excluding the prices of volatile agricultural products and energy, reached 22.58 per cent in October 2023 on a year-on-year basis.
This reflects a 5.12 per cent increase compared to the 17.46 per cent recorded in October 2022.
The highest increases were observed in the prices of passenger transport by road, medical services, passenger transport by air, actual and imputed rentals for housing, and pharmaceutical products, among others.
On a month-on-month basis, the Core Inflation rate for October 2023 was 1.39 per cent, showing a decrease of 0.83 per cent from the September 2023 rate of 2.22 per cent.
In October 2023, the Urban inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was 29.29 per cent, marking a significant increase of 7.66 per cent points compared to the 21.63 per cent recorded in October 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the Urban inflation rate for October 2023 stood at 1.81 per cent, reflecting a 0.43 per cent decrease from September 2023 (2.24 per cent).
In October 2023, the year-on-year Rural inflation rate reached 25.58 per cent, marking a substantial increase of 5.01 per cent compared to the 20.57 per cent recorded in October 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the Rural inflation rate for October 2023 stood at 1.67 per cent, indicating a decrease of 0.29 per cent points compared to September 2023 (1.96 per cent).
