By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigerian inflation rose 8.2 percent (8.2%) Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) in June 2014 for the fourth consecutive time as food prices climbed up.

According to consumer price index (CPI) report June 2014 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the rate increased up by 0.2 percentage points from 8.0 percent recorded in May.

The NBS CPI report indicates that the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve-month period ending in June 2014 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period was recorded at 8.0 percent, unchanged from the average twelve month rate of change recorded in May 2014.

The report affirmed that the corresponding 12- month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 8.1 percent in June, marginally lower from 8.2 percent recorded in the previous month while the corresponding Rural index firmed at 7.9 percent for the Month of June.

This is coming on the heels of less than a week before Godwin Emefiele, governor of Nigeria’s central bank chairing his first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

Economists predict that benchmark interest rate will remain unchanged at a record 12 percent, maintaining the bank’s stance since November 2011.

The NBS on Tuesday projected the Nigerian economy is likely to grow 6.21 percent according to forecast by the statistics office.

NBS report said the 6.21 percent would be faster than growth last year, which was revised down to 5.5 percent last week.
In the first quarter of 2014, the Nigerian economy grew 6.21 percent in Q1 2014, higher than 4.45 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013, but lower than 6.77 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The 6.21 percent economic expansion was driven by the services sector which accounted for half of the real GDP in Q1 2014, expanding 7.2 percent in January-March from the previous year, decelerating from an 8.7 percent rise in the previous quarter.