Inflation rate drops for 14th consecutive time since January 2017 as it inches closer to the single digits target set by both monetary and fiscal authorities for the economy.
Latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday showed consumer price index (CPI), which measures inflation level in the economy, increased by 13.34 per cent between March 2017 and March 2018.
The statistics agency said the new figure was about 0.99 per cent points less than the 14.33 per cent rate recorded in February 2018.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, during the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last week in Abuja, said members resolved to retain all controlling policy rates at prevailing levels until inflation rate dropped to the single digits zone.
Apart from Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as lending rate, which was retained at 14 per cent, liquidity rate was maintained at 30 per cent.
Also, cash reserve requirement, the amount of cash the banks are allowed to keep in their reserves, was kept at 22.5 per cent.
The Asymmetric corridor was left at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR as it was during the previous meeting in November 2017.
In the NBS report, composite food index, which highlights the average of some food items, majorly staple foods, rose by 16.08 per cent (year on year) in March 2018, down from the 17.59 per cent rate recorded in February.