The National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday released the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, with the rate dropping from 15.9 per cent in November to 15.37 per cent in December 2017.

The drop of 0.53 percentage points recorded in December made it the eleventh consecutive slowdown in the inflation rate.

The NBS stated, “The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, ended the year 2017 with a rate of 15.37 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2017.

“This was 0.53 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in November (15.90), making it the eleventh consecutive disinflation (slowdown in the inflation rate though still positive) in headline year-on-year inflation since January 2017.”

The report stated that the urban inflation rate rose by 15.78 per cent year-on-year in December from 16.27 per cent in November, while the rural inflation rate also eased by 15.02 per cent in December from 15.59 per cent in November.

On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.66 per cent in December, down by 0.19 from the 0.85 per cent recorded in November, while the rural index rose by 0.54 per cent in December, down by 0.18 when compared with the 0.72 per cent in November.

On the food index, the report added that high year-on-year food price pressure continued into December, though consistently at a slower pace.

It noted that the food index increased by 19.42 per cent year-on-year in December, down from the 20.3 per cent rate recorded a month earlier.

On a month-on-month basis, the report stated that the food index increased by 0.58 per cent in December, down by 0.3 per cent from 0.88 per cent the previous month.

It added that the rise in the index was caused by increase in prices of bread, cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, coffee, tea, cocoa, oil, cheese and egg, fish, oils and fats.