Despite Naira’s rebound, Nigeria’s inflation rate jumped to 33.20% in March 2024 compared to February 2024 headline inflation rate which was 31.70%.
This was according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS’s Consumer Price Index report released on Monday.
The NBS said looking at the movement, the March 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.50% points when compared to the February 2024 headline inflation rate.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.16% points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2023, which was 22.04%.
The inflation report by the NBS followed the hike of Nigeria’s interest rate from 22.75% to 24.75% by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Interestingly, the March inflation rate was released at a time when measures by the apex bank to strengthen the naira against foreign exchange have seen some positive results.
The naira has appreciated against the dollar in recent weeks, gaining over 40%, from about N1,900 per dollar to about N1,100 per dollar now.