Inflation at a 17-year high of 19.64% did not come as a surprise to most Nigerians.  What was baffling though, was that the monthly inflation rate seems to be tapering at a time when most consumers had virtually lost hope.

Our analysis suggests that headline inflation may be approaching a point of inflection and the reasons are not far-fetched.  In spite of cost-push factors, consumers are resisting price increases because most Nigerians are broke.  They are living on a shoestring, eating less and switching to cheaper substitutes.  As the harvest season approaches, we expect prices to decline, especially because global food prices are down and Bonny light is now at $92pb, way below its high of $125pb.  We are projecting that inflation could taper to 19.3% in September before falling further.

These issues and many others were dissected in the Channels News at Ten Segment by Bismarck Rewane with the courtesy of the FDC Think Tank.

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