Inflation drops to 12-month low

Inflation in Ghana dropped to a 12-month low of 38.1% in September, down from the 40.1 percent recorded in August. The inflation rate was driven by alcoholic beverages, tobacco & narcotics, food and non-alcoholic beverages, personal care, social protection, miscellaneous services, furnishings and household equipment, clothing and footwear, health, recreation and culture, housing, water and electricity, transport, information and communication, restaurants and accommodation, and education services. The insurance and financial services division recorded the lowest inflation rate at 5%.

Ghana’s economy has been struggling with high inflation, reaching a 22-year high of 54.1% in December 2022. Inflation began a downward trend in January 2023, consistently declining to 42.2% in April 2023. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana has set an end-of-year inflation target of 29%.

Food inflation dropped from 51.9% in August to 49.4% in September, with non-food inflation also dropping from 30.9% to 29.3% within the same period. Food inflation was driven by tea and related products, followed by cocoa drinks, fruit and vegetable juices, coffee, fish and seafood, milk, dairy products and eggs, oil and fats, cereals and cereal products, sugar, confectionery and desserts, live animals, meat, ready-made food, vegetables, tubers, plantains, etc., and water. Fruits and nuts recorded the lowest inflation of 33.5% under food inflation.

SOURCE: GRAPHIC ONLINE