Nigeria’s inflation rate has recorded a decline for the eighth consecutive time since January 2017, dropping from 16.01 per cent in August to 15.98 per cent, says the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS in its latest report tagged: ‘The report, entitled Consumer Price Index CPI, and Inflation Report’.

According to data released by the NBS Tuesday, the bureau says that the decline represents 0.03 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in the previous month of August.

Conversely, the bureau reports that despite this decline in inflationary trends, all major food sub-indexes have increased by 20.32 per cent between September 2016 and 2017, which is a substantial increase from the 20.25 per cent recorded in August.

According to NBS, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of potatoes; yams and other tubers; milk, cheese and eggs; bread and cereals; coffee, tea and cocoa; soft drinks, fish, meat and oil and fats.

Further details of the report also show that the headline index recorded a growth rate of 0.78 per cent in September, which represents a 0.19 per cent decline when compared to the 0.97 per cent recorded in August.

The report also indicate that there were increases in all divisions that yield the Headline Index, while the headline index rose by 0.78 per cent in September 2017, 0.19 per cent points lower from the rate of 0.97 per cent recorded in August.

The report reads in part: “The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12–month period ending in September 2017 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12-month period was 17.17 per cent, showing 0.16 per cent point lower from 17.33 per cent recorded in August 2017”.

“The urban index rose by 16.18 per cent (year-on-year) in September2017, up by 0.05 per cent point from 16.13 per cent recorded in August and the Rural index increased by 15.81 per cent in September, down from 15.91 per cent in August.

“On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.84 per cent in September 2017, down from 0.99 per cent recorded in August, while the rural index rose by 0.74 per cent in September 2017, down from 0.95 per cent in August.”