Nigeria inflation rises to 7.9 pct in April: statistics bureau

Reuters
Malam Sanusi Bello sprays his vegetables with water on a hot day to prevent the heat from damaging his wares ahead of Christmas sales in Abuja December 24, 2013. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian annual consumer price inflation edged up in April to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in March as food prices rose, the statistics bureau (NBS) said on Wednesday. Food price inflation inched up to 9.4 percent in April, from 9.3 percent the previous month, the NBS said in its monthly inflation release. "Food prices rose slightly ... as a result of higher prices in the bread and cereals, meat, fish, dairy, oils and fats, and fruits classes," the bureau said. April inflation was within Nigeria's central bank's target rate of 6 to 9 percent in 2014. The bank has a longer-term goal of reducing inflation to around 5 percent by the end of 2015. Nigeria plans to reweight its inflation index by the end of the year, using 2009 as its base year instead of the current 2004 to reflect the impact of non-food items on prices more accurately.