• To combat inflationary pressures, the monetary authority has deployed several measures, including an aggregate 875bps hike in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 27.50% during the year, increases in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), and consistent Open Market Operation (OMO) auctions. While these measures aim to tighten liquidity and curb inflation, there remains a need for stronger collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities to address the structural drivers of inflation effectively.
• Persistent inflationary pressures continue to pose significant challenges to businesses and households. Elevated production costs have translated into higher operating expenses for businesses, many of which have been passed on to consumers through increased prices. This dynamic erodes household purchasing power and suppresses consumer demand.
• Core inflation rose by 38bps rose by 38bps to 28.75% y/y during the review period, largely driven by cost pressures in the transportation sector (30.54% y/y vs 29.26% y/y) and restaurants & hotels services (34.84% y/y vs 33.01% y/y). However, the month-on-month core inflation measure eased to 1.83% from 2.14% in October, following the NNnwaPC’s dowrd review of petrol prices in November.
• Imported food inflation surged by 133bps to 42.29% y/y in November reflecting Naira depreciation and rising global food prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index, comprising meat, dairy, cereals, vegetable oil, and sugar, rose by 0.5% m/m and 5.7% y/y to an average of 127.5 points in November—the highest level since April 2023. This was primarily driven by elevated prices of vegetable oil and dairy products. 
• Food inflation accelerated by 77bps to 39.93% y/y and 2.98% m/m in November, primarily driven by price increases in key staples such as maize, grain, rice, palm oil, vegetable oil, potatoes, yam, and other tubers.

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