Nigeria’s headline inflation rate accelerated for the sixth consecutive time to 22.79 per cent in June 2023, according to data by the National Bureau of Statistics released Monday.

The inflation rate in Africa’s biggest economy rose to a new 17-year high of 22.79 per cent in June 2023 from 22.41 per cent in the previous month.

The NBS report read, “In June 2023, the Headline inflation rate rose to 22.79 per cent relative to May 2023 headline inflation rate, which was 22.41 per cent. Looking at the movement, the June 2023 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.38 percentage points when compared to May 2023 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate was 4.19 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2022, which was 18.60 per cent. This shows that the Headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in June 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., June 2022).”

Food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.81 per cent) led the list of items that contributed to the rising inflation figure.

The World Bank had projected that the removal of fuel subsidy would contribute to the country’s increasing inflation.

In its June 2023 Nigeria Development Update, the bank said, “The removal of the petrol subsidy is anticipated to cause a temporary increase in inflation in the upcoming months before contributing to disinflation in the medium term.”