The recent rise in petrol price in Nigeria may cause an increase in the country’s inflation rate, says renowned economist Bismarck Rewane.
“There might be an increase in the rate of inflation because of the increase in the price of petrol but we haven’t seen the corresponding increase in the prices of transport fares so far,” Rewane, who is the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), said on Channels Television’s Business Morning on Tuesday.
“What we’ve seen in the last few days is that food commodity prices have increased, coupled with the fact that the planting season is here,” he said.
Petrol price has risen across the country recently, and industry experts blame it on the suspension of sales of petroleum products in naira by the Dangote Refinery. Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited raised the pump price of petrol to N925 per litre at its retail stations in Lagos and N950 per litre in Abuja effective from April 2, after MRS and other independent marketers had increased their prices to N930 per litre in Lagos and N960 in the northern part of the country.
On its part, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate dropped to 23.18 per cent in February 2025, from 24.48 per cent in January. Food inflation also eased to 23.51 per cent, from 26.08 per cent in January.
The inflation rate was at 34.8 per cent in December 2024, but changed to 24.48 per cent in January after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said it rebased the country’s Consumer Price Index(CPI) in keeping with international standards.
Meanwhile, with the imposition of tariffs on imported products to the United States by the Donald Trump presidency, Rewane said uncertainties and the fears of recession have become very palpable.
According to him, the prices of gold and crude oil have been impacted by the tariff war started by the Trump presidency.
“The United States has disrupted things with its policy initiatives,” Rewane said. “The United States, I think, will reverse some of those decisions when they begin to impact everybody. We are in a political system. 2026 is going to be mid-term elections and I think the United States is going to begin to retrace some of its steps.”
He, however, warned against panic, saying the volatility would be for a short while.
