The National Bureau of Statistics NBS will engage stakeholders ahead of Nigeria’s December inflation release.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday to discuss expectations and trends in the Consumer Price Index.
Analysts anticipate a temporary halt in the disinflationary trend due to year-end spending.
Base-year effects are also expected to contribute to a short-term increase in inflation.
CardinalStone projected December headline inflation to reach 32.07 percent year-on-year.
Similarly, Coronation Asset Management predicted a sharp year-end inflation rise due to statistical effects.
The firm attributed the projected increase to festive-season demand and higher logistics costs.
Food prices are also expected to rise amid tighter market supply and regional insecurity.
AIICO Capital projected headline CPI between 31.4 and 32.4 percent year-on-year for December.
The firm noted that core inflation may ease slightly month-on-month by 10 basis points.
Factors supporting the month-on-month easing include naira appreciation and lower petrol prices.
Naira strengthened by 76bps to N1,435.76 per USD at the official exchange window.
Average petrol prices declined by 14.7 percent, influenced by Dangote Refinery’s gantry price reductions.
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group called for stakeholder engagement to clarify inflation expectations.
They emphasized that the projected spike does not indicate structural economic deterioration.
Instead, the increase largely reflects arithmetic and computational methodology of the CPI.
Following the 2025 CPI rebasing, inflation moderated to 14 percent in November.
NBS rebasing updated the reference period from 2019 to 2024 for better economic insights.
The engagement aims to promote transparency, methodological clarity, and stakeholder confidence.
Officials will discuss December trends, inflation drivers, and interpretative context for data users.
Overall, the initiative ensures accurate understanding and informed policy and business decisions.
