Surging Inflation Raises Pressure on Nigeria to Hike Rates Again
- Consumer prices rose 18.6% in June; median estimate 18.5%
- Inflation breached central bank’s target band for seventh year
Vendors sell fresh produce at a food market in Lagos, Nigeria.
Photographer: Damilola Onafuwa/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to a five-year high in June, increasing the likelihood that the central bank will raise interest rates again next week.
Consumer prices rose 18.6% from a year earlier, compared with 17.7% in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website on Friday. Inflation, which has been above the 9% ceiling of the central bank’s target band for seven years, topped the median estimate of 18.5% by 11 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Prices climbed 1.8% from the previous month, the same rate as May.