Nigeria’s inflation rate may hit 17.7% in August – FSDH

A group of finance experts at FSDH merchant Bank have predicted 17.71 percent further growth in inflation rate for the month of August.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had reported 17.1 percent for the month of July from 16.5 percent in June.

NBS is expected to release the inflation rate for the month of August 2016 on September 15, 2016 based on the data calendar on its website.

The increase in inflation rate according to them is expected to come from the increase in prices of food items and other non-food items as a result scarcity of dollar at the foreign exchange market.

They said, “We expect the August 2016 inflation rate (year-on-year) to increase further to 17.71 percent from 17.13 percent recorded in the month of July 2016.

“We expect the increase to come from the increase in the prices of food items and other non-food items as a result of the continued pressure on the value of the Naira.

“The Food Price Index (FPI) that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released today September 08, 2016 shows that the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)I increased in August to a 15-month high. The Index was up by 1.95 per cent compared with July, as most commodity prices rose in August led by dairy, oils and sugar.

“The value of the Index in August is the highest since May 2015. The FAO Dairy Index appreciated by 8.63percent from July as prices of cheese, whole milk powder and butter were on the increase. The increase in price was mainly due to shortage in production in the European Union (EU).

“The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index was up by 7.43 per cent in August, driven by a combination of rising imports demand in some key importing countries notably China, India and the EU, and lower than anticipated palm oil output in Malaysia. The FAO Sugar Index increased by 2.47 per cent in August as a result of a stronger Brazilian currency (Real) against the U.S. Dollar.

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