Amid a shortage of foreign exchange, Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 24.08% in July 2023, the highest recorded in recent times.
The July 2023 rate showed an increase of 1.29% points when compared to the previous month’s, which was 22.79%, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Tuesday.
The CPI measures the rate of change in the prices of goods and services.
On July 25, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which measures the interest rate, from 18.5 percent to 18.75%.
The interest rate increase occurred amid soaring food prices and rising transportation costs occasioned by the removal of subsidies on Premium Motor spirit, known as gasoline.
The apex bank said “hiking the interest rate has made a lot of difference in moderating the rate of inflation”.
To address the forex shortage in the country, Acting CBN Governor Folashodun Sonubi said on Monday that the apex bank would take certain steps in the next few days to improve liquidity in the market.
